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Leading edge computer and video games

PRESENTS

December 1996

BIGFIGHT!

Nintendo 64

PlayStation

Which videogame system is the best? Which console

should you buy? PlayStation, Saturn, and Nintendo 64 TOlume two

each claims to be number one. But which packs the I ^

hardest gaming punch? And which console will really

go the distance? The gloves come off on page 38...

Sega Saturn

$7.99 U.S. $8.99 CAN.

1 2

'71486"03676

opening

ha PC and Mac are great game
machines, but the dedicated gamer
often feels obligated to bolster his
sot-up with a game consols. Of
course, the big question is "Which
one?" The good news is that this
month's CD is packed with over
800MB of game demos and
previews — information to make
your final decision a more
informed, rational choice.

As long as there is no unified
format for videogame playing, choosing which
to buy will be tough. Obviously, it's all about
playing the hottest games. But when buying a
new videogame system, you need to be sure
that it will not only meet your gaming needs
today, but also tomorrow — and for years to
come. The road irideogaming has taken to the
64-bit and 32-bit superconsoles of 1986 is
littered with the burned-out husks of consoles
that couldn't go the distance. lust ask anyone
who bought a 300 Multiplayer, Atari Jaguar,
virtual Boy, or TurboGrafxIE.

So in picking a new machine, gamers need
to understand the business issues that can
lead to a machine's success or failure.
Questions that gamers must ask include:
What's under the hood? Where did it come
from? How committed is the manufacturer to
its console's success? How many have been
sold already? How is the console being
marketed? Have games on this system gotten
as good as they're going to get, or will they
continue to improve?

All the data you need to make an informed
decision begins on page 38.

December 1996

Contact

Next Generation

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Editorial

Neil West editor-in-chief

Diane Anderson managing editor

Chris Charla doghouse inhabitant

Jeff Lundrigan reviews editor

Tom Russo assistant editor

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Colin Campbell editor, ng online

Christian Svensson new media editor

Rick Sanchez disc editor

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Editorial Contributors

Patrick Baggatta, Jason Bates, Roger
Burchiil, Nicolas di Costanza, Douglass
Perry, Mike Salmon, Don Thomas, Amy
Tong, Marcus Webb, Mike Wolf, Bernard
Yee, George Zachary
Photography & Artistic Contributors
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Advertising

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Production .

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Permit No. 161

Did You Know that Sega was
Founded by an American?

It's true. The Japanese gaming giant was actually the
brainchild of David Rosen, an American ex-airman trying to
make a living after the Korean War. This is his story

Atari's Historic Road
to Nowhere

Atari is dead. Now Don Thomas, the former "Voice of Atari,"
tells the insider's story of the death of the American
company that first started the videogame ball bouncing

The Big Fight — Nintendo 64 vs PlayStation vs Sega Saturn

Which console is really the best? Which system should you buy? With all three heavyweights finally in the ring, this holiday
season will witness the most important battle the game industry has ever fought NG steps in to referee

1 A A

jm A/

Dartwin, they actual pn

The Future Sound of Game Music

For years, game music has been nothing but a bland collection of bleeps and blips. This is now changing, as a new generation of
musicians take advantage of the storage medium of CDs to open up a bold new aural world. So who's writing the songs?

introducing

6 talking

Did You Know that Sega was
Founded by an American?

Sega founder and co-Chairman David Rosen speaks

14 breaking

News

All the iat
24

it information from the world of gaming
Arcadia (coin-op news and updates)
Generator (word from the developers)
Movers V Shakers (business news)
Joyriding (online gaming news)

News

Report from the Tokyo Toy Show • Konami and Capcom shine at the JAMMA arcade show
Nintendo 64DD takes another step towards online gaming • Plus all the regular columns

38 ne hardware

The Big Fight

So many systems, so little cash — so which console
is worth your hard-earned bucks this holiday season?

84 ng special

The Future Sound of Game Music

Perhaps it was inevitable that as gaming embraced
CD technology, game music would benefit most

Atari's Historic Road to Nowhere

NG respectfully presents a first-hand report on the
death of the company that started videogaming

111 viewing

Gallery

Back by popular demand, some of gaming's best a

123 ng software

Alphas

Previewed here is every game we could get our
hands on: Pitfall 3D, Oddworld (PlayStation); Daytona
CCE (Saturn); Ecstatica 2, Cloak (PC); Street fighter EX
(Arcade); Dual Heroes, }2 Wonder Project (N64)

123J 144 subscribing

Alphas: 24 games previewed

In the end, it's all about games — and we've got loads of 'em. Thirty-five pages on twenty-
four games, including: Toshinden 3, Daytona CCE, Street Fighter EX, Ecstatica 2, and more

Save cash and time

Folks, we're telling ya, subscribing is just that easy

247 rating

Finals

The games you should pass on, the games you should
give as gifts, and the ones you should keep yourself.
Including: Soviet Strike (PlayStation); Daggerfall (PC);
fighting Vipers (Saturn); X-Alen Vs. Street fighter (Arcade)

281 corresponding

Letters

Yet more words of wisdom from our dedicated,
argumentative, and — yes — ■ smart readers

110 now hiring

Play the games, then get the job (although it does
help to have a background in programming and CGI)

247 B| U2 ending

Finals: 33 games reviewed

Many are called but few are chosen — at least by us. Every month, NG reviews each and
every major new game release, so you know which are the classics, and which are the duds

Next month...

Next Generation #25 arrives on newsstands on
December 17. Find out how to subscribe on page 144

are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association.

Sega is knowi

aming powerhouses. But
VF3 was founded by an American,

rean War. So, ask yourself...

Next Generation OnUne. htlp://www.next-generation.com/

talking

II videogame players know that
Sega, like Nintendo and Sony, is a
Japanese company. But very few
people know that Sega was
founded by an American ex-
Airman who found himself in Japan
in the early 1 950s, after the Korean War.

Rosen's story would still be interesting if it was
only about establishing Sega as a world power in
videogames. Instead, Rosen's story is intertwined
with Japan's. And the rise of Sega mirrors the
recovery of Japan from the economic mess it
found itself in after World War II.

Rosen is still co-Chairman of Sega Enterprises,
and yet a private man with no desire for publicity
— he seldom meets with the press. However, he
agreed to meet with Next Generation to
discuss Sega's legacy as an entertainment empire.

Sega photo booths?

NG: How did you get started in Japan?
David: From 1 949 to 1952, during the Korean
War, I was in the U.S. Air Force, and I travelled
around. I started in Shanghai in China, I was in
Korea during the war, but most of my time was
spent in Japan. After the war, I started a company
in Japan called Rosen Enterprises Ltd. This first
business actually involved art — which is about as
far from the current business as you could be.

At that point in time, the Japanese had a great
need for ID photos. You needed an ID photo for
school applications, for rice ration cards, for
railway cards, and for employment. My idea was
to adapt and import those little automated photo
booths from the U.S. to Japan.
NG: Was the Japanese government as anti foreign
business then as it has become since?
David: I don't think Japan's ever really been anti
foreign business — then or now.
NG: But was it difficult to expand your business?
David: You would go crazy with the regulations
imposed upon businesses! But I don't think they
necessarily targeted foreigners.

In the years after World War II, Japan had no
dollars — unlike today. So if you wanted to
import any product into Japan [and hence spend
dollars], you needed a license. And that license
application went through MITI (Ministry of
Industrial Trade and Industry). It didn't matter if
you were Japanese or any other nationality, you
could not import anything without a license.

Licenses generally fell into three categories.
Category one was absolute necessities. Category
two was products that were non-necessities but
desirable. And category three was luxury — and
getting a luxury license was nearly impossible.
NG: So how did you start importing videogames?
Surely amusements were "luxury" goods?
David: Geographically Japan is very close to
Korea. During the Korean War, Japan benefited

from some U.S. military procurement [the U.S.
army bought supplies in Japan]. This was a big
bolster to the Japanese economy.

So around '56 or '57, 1 recognized that there
was starting to be some disposable income. Also,
there was beginning to be a little time for
entertainment. By this I mean, up until perhaps
the mid '50s, most Japanese companies worked a
full six days a week. In smaller companies, it
wouldn't be unusual to work six and a half days,
which didn't leave you much time for leisure. You
were fortunate to get a good night's sleep.

But when the first signs of disposable income
and leisure time appeared, I began thinking about
how I could enter the entertainment market.

"The U.S. game business was suffering.
So we decided that to survive in Japan,
we should develop games of our own"

NG: How did you choose coin-op amusements?
David: By a method of elimination. The popular
entertainment at that point in time in Japan was
Pachinko, dance studios, bars, and cabarets. None
of these were something I wanted to get involved
in, so I thought,"Gee — coin-operated games."
NG: So how did you get started?
David: I made a quick study of the industry and
found that there was only a small number of coin-
op manufacturers and they were all in Chicago.
They each manufactured between four and six
games a year, other than pinballs.

At the time, it was pretty much a dying
industry in the U.S. — dying in the sense that it
wasn't growing. So I came to the U.S. with the
idea that I would seek out the type of games that I
felt most suitable for Japan. Then I went back to
MITI to try and obtain a license to import them.

David Rosen still has time to play the Sega classics at his home in Beverly Hills, California

Next Generation OnUne, http://w\

NG: But coin-ops are luxury entertainment
items — not "necessity" photo booths.
David: Yes, these were luxury items, and it took
me over one year with a lot of effort — and
certainly a lot of introductions — to convince
MITI that coin-ops would be good for leisure.
Finally, they granted me a license for $100,000,
which meant I could purchase $100,000 worth of
coin-ops, and bring them to Japan.

The Japanese had a real desire for
hunting and shooting, so I brought
from the U.S. an assortment of rifle
games based on this $100,000
limitation. The average game probably

the import duties in Japan were
like 200%. Worse yet, you had to
pay duties on shipping costs too.
NG: So it was costing you
around $800 for a machine that
sold in the U.S. for $200. But
the cost was worth it?
David: Right off the bat, the
machines were tremendously
successful. It's embarrassing to
say this, but the return generally
came in less than two months.

The profits of a machine are
made the same way as the
profits of a theater seat or a plane seat — it
depends on occupancy and on the time it's used.
You can charge a dollar to play a machine, but if
it's only used 10 times a day, you only make $10.
Our machines were constantly going — from
morning to night. So the return was excellent
NG: And so you imported more?
David: I became known as a very live customer
in the U.S. because most distributors had

warehouses filled with used equipment they had
no marketplace for. In those days, trade-ins were
a very big part of any distributor's business —
when an operator bought a game for around
$700, two years later he would trade it in for just
$50 or $100. And these trade-ins were just piled
up in warehouses.

NG: And the Japanese loved these old games?
David: The air gun games were in big supply and
yet very popular in Japan. We were stripping the
cabinets off the old machines, just keeping the
mechanisms and creating new jungle
environments from scratch.

The first Japanese arcades

NG: So where were you putting these coin-ops?
David: At this point, I was opening up arcades
with these shooting and hunting games
throughout Japan, and we were fortunate.

Based on my initial Photorama experience, we
worked out a very good relationship with various
movie studios, primarily Toho and Shursheko.so
they made their locations available to us.
NG: How many arcades did you have?
David: I don't know, but when I left there wasn't
a city in Japan that didn't have one of our arcades.
NG: Several Japanese game companies have told
of run-ins with the Yakuza — the Japanese mafia.
Was this ever a problem for you?
David: It was probably less of a problem for us
than it was for others. Actually, it was never a
problem for us.

NG: Really? Do you think you were left alone
because you were American?
David: Oh, definitely. Once, when we didn't
know any better, we opened a Photorama booth
in an area ofTokyo called Iraksho. What we didn't
realize was that one has to pay their respects to
the local... uh... call them what you will. I hesitate
to come up with a name.

But you're supposed to pay your respects and
acknowledge that you are now doing this business
in their, erm, domain. And we didn't. We failed to
do this, just out of ignorance.

In this particular case, we didn't realize that
this particular party was so sensitive to the issue.
He sent some emissaries to tell us of his
displeasure. And so we made an apology, and one
of our Japanese managers explained to him that
we were, of course, a foreign company and very
sorry we didn't know better.
NG: Were you the only person in Japan
operating coin-op games?
David: I probably had the civilian marketplace to
myself for about two years, but then other
companies learned how we were importing and
under what classification. Obviously, they applied
for a similar license and soon started to import
games and became competitors.

The two companies that were most involved
wereTaito and a company called Service Games

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.neiI-generalion.com/

talkin

Rosen remains one of the few Americans to build a business

— the Japanese name was Nihon Goraku Bussan.
NG: And these became major competitors?
David: Both companies had a fair sized jukebox
operation going, and Nihon Goraku Bussan had a
factory that manufactured slot machines for
military use. So they were powerful companies.

In the early '60s, I was friends with the
principals of bothTaito and Nihon Goraku
Bussan. And in 1964 going into 1 965, the
principals of Nihon Goraku Bussan and I had
discussions about merging. They were by far the
larger company, and Sega was their brand name.
NG: So Nihon Goraku was the original Sega?
David: It was Sega in the sense that Sega was its
brand name.

But we had decided to merge, and in trying to
establish the name of the company, we decided
Sega was the best known name, and we took
Enterprises from Rosen Enterprises. So our new
company became known as Sega Enterprises Ltd,
and I became CEO/President after the merger.

Sega's first coin-ops

NG: When did Sega start making its own games?
David: By 1961, we noticed that there really
wasn't anything new about the games we were
importing. There were cosmetic changes — the
target or the layout would be different — but
basically the games were all the same.

The game business back in the U.S. was going
further into the doldrums. So we decided that to
survive in Japan, we should think of developing
some new equipment of our own.

Sega Enterprises had the factory and the
engineers, from Nihon Goraku Bussan. I had
engineers too, of course, and I had some game
ideas. We decided to seize the opportunity.
NG: So what was the first true "Sega" game?
David: In 1966, we produced our first game
called The Periscope. Old-timers in the industry

will tell you that The
Periscope was a turning
point for coin-ops. It was a
simple game. You stood at
one end and shot at cutout
ships running on a chain
through a periscope.
NG: Kind of like ducks on
a shooting gallery?
David: Something like
that. The aiming device
looked like a real periscope
and the player had to
release torpedoes in time
to hit the ships. It sounds
simple today, but at the
time it was somewhat
revolutionary.

It was so successful
t ,,r,: in Japan | that US. and European

distributors flew to Japan
to see what it was all about, and we exported it.
NG: Was it just as expensive to export from
Japan as it was to import into it?
David: Because of the Japanese export tax, The
Periscope was about twice as expensive as any
conventional U.S. piece. Instead of $695 or $795,
it cost around $1,295. The operators complained,
saying, "You know it's a great piece, but we really
can't make money paying $1,295." And we said,
"Put it on 25£ play, and you'll make money."

That was the introduction of 25^1 play in the
U.S. and Sega's start in the export business.
NG: So what happened next?
David: After The Periscope, we realized that we
could design acceptable games, and we became
very prolific — we probably designed and

"The Japanese had a great need for ID
photos. My first idea was to import
automated photo booths from the U.S.'

exported between eight to ten games a year.

For the first time, Chicago realized: one, that
there was somebody outside of Chicago that
could produce games; and two, that there was still
a good industry out there if one really produced
games that could attract player attention.
NG: Did the Chicago companies fight back?
David: The game that broke the camel's back, so
to speak, was a game we built in the late 1 960s
called jet Rocket. Word got out about this game.

Every game Sega Enterprises introduced was
really novel, but jet Rocket introduced a lot of new
elements, different types of sound, and different
special effects. While we were designing it, we
obviously showed prototypes to various people
and sent out prototypes for testing. This was
going to be an expensive piece.

Next Generation OnUne, ti Up: //www. next-generation, com/

talking

But unbeknownst to us, the three main
Chicago manufacturers decided to knock off this
game [make an exact copy of it] and each one was
racing to be first. Consequently, there was an over
supply of jet Rocket, and for a while we stopped
exporting games.

NG: Sega was eventually bought by the Gulf/
Western conglomerate. How did this happen?
David: We wanted to go public in Japan, but too
many firsts were involved. First, it would have
been the first time a foreign-owned company went
public in Japan after World War II. Second, it
would have been the first time a company in the
coin-op industry went public in Japan. Too many
hurdles existed.

So we ended up being bought by the
Gulf/Western conglomerate. And then, in March
of 1984, 1 put together a group — including Mr.
Nakayama — and bought the company back.

"Unfortunately, the Master System was
launched around two years after the NES.
By that time, Japan had a Nintendo culture"

The first Sega videogames

NG: At what point did Sega get involved with
actual videogames, as opposed to coin-operated
electro-mechanical games?
David: Sega was involved in videogames very
shortly after they were invented. Certainly we
were importing games like Pong from day one.

We started producing our own videogames
shortly thereafter.

NG: After having enjoyed so much success in
Japanese arcades, why was Sega's first home
videogame system — the Master System —
unable to get a foothold in Japan?
David: Unfortunately, the Master System was

launched around two years after Nintendo's NES.
By that time Japan had a Nintendo culture, and it
was difficult to launch a similar technology.

NG: Do you believe that the Master System
offered more powerful hardware than the NES?
David: Well, I don't think there was a significant
difference, in all fairness.

NG: But you made up for this slow start with the

launch of the 16-bit Genesis?

David: Yes, we were first with the Genesis. And

that's what helped us recapture the market.

NG: But Saturn has not done as well as people

had hoped, obviously.

David: Saturn is very successful in Japan.

Basically, Saturn has done remarkably well
considering the forces against it. There's no
question that Sony is a very viable competitor.
And there's also no question that a lot of third-
parties have jumped on the Sony bandwagon.

In spite of this, however, Sega has held its own
in Japan very well. To the best of my knowledge
and based on the numbers I receive, it was still a
50/50 market in Japan, prior to the launch of
Nintendo 64. That is I think quite an achievement.
It says quite a bit about Saturn.
NG: What about in the U.S.?
David: By most reports, Sony has outsold Sega in
the U.S., but several factors are involved. First,
they were priced less than us to begin with — and
the market is unquestionably price-sensitive.
Second, Sony was fortunate to have a lot of
software when they introduced their system. We
didn't have quite as much.

NG: Many Sega followers are hoping that Nights
can do for Saturn what Sonic the Hedgehog did for
Genesis. What do you think of the game?
David: I think it's a very impressive game.

Sega has tremendous engineering and
technology capability. Basically, due to the coin-op
business we have the ability to translate and
transpose our engineering know-how into
consumer product.

Certainly, I would say Sega's strength is its
engineering R&D capability, which comes out of
the coin-operated machine business. Sometimes
we become overly sophisticated and think
anybody can understand the operating system and
thereby program and make great software for it.
But that rectifies itself in time.
NG: So you have long-term faith in Saturn?
David: I think that this bout is far from over.

A lot will depend on what happens this holiday
season, and a lot of what happens this holiday
season is going to depend on the software.
Certainly, the two 32-bit systems are not dissimilar
enough to sell on the virtue of the hardware.

Customers buy based on the games they've
played and how much they enjoy them. So we
hope that a lot of titles that we have IT*??
coming out will put us back on top. \3

Rosen remains co-Chairman of Sega Enterprises, the Japanese parent company of all things Sega

Next Generation OnUne, http: //www. next-genera

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Next Generation attends Japan's biggest videogame exhibition and discovers a wealth of 32-bit games and third-
party Nintendo 64 games/p.14 • JAMMA: yet more new coin-ops/p.20 • Arcadia: How Microsoft has its sights
set on the coin op world/p.24 • Generator: Force Feedback/p.26 • JoyRiding: Online gaming/p.30

x • V V V \

Computer and videogame news from around the world

Tokyo Game Show '96:

Japan shows off

Japan's premiere
videogame show
offers first look
at Sony, Sega, and
Nintendo games

□ he Tokyo Game Show took
place recently in the new Big
Sight suburb of the capital -
an area reclaimed from the sea and
quickly developed by the space-
hungry Japanese. The
popularity of the show was
demonstrated by the 45
minute wait to buy tickets
for the only train from Tokyo
to Big Sight. On arrival,

visitors had to suffer another lengthy
delay as thousands lined up to get
into the venue. (The visitors included
over a thousand people dressed as
game characters, in full costume for
the Saturday parade run by the
show's organizers.)

What all these visitors came to
see were the 350 or so games
presented on seven different
platforms. The numbers tell the story

What all
these visitors
came to see
were the 350
or so games
presented
on seven
different
platforms

The excitement shown on the faces of delegates was clear — this was
a show that few owners of next-gen machines were prepared to miss

of the state of the play in the
Japanese market with the PlayStation
leading the way with 164 titles on
show. The numbers were made up by
110 Saturn titles, 29 PC titles, 14
Nintendo 64 titles, 10 NEC PC-FX
titles, 9 Macintosh titles, and a
solitary PC Engine game.

At Sony's big and

impressive stand, SCE debuted
Beldeselva and Rorokenshin.
Beldeselva is an air combat game set
in a fantasy world in which pilots fly a
bizarre collection of propeller-driven
aircraft. Like Sega's Virtual-On, a
special analogue double joystick will
be released for the game.

Sega gives it
some stick

The dual-stick control
method adopted by the
arcade version of
Virtual-On has prompted
Sega to develop a version
for the Saturn. No news
has been released on a
price or whether it will
make it to the U.S.

Next Generation OnUne. nil p:// www.nOSijen8rati0il.C0nV

breaking

Saga's booth was unsurprisingly
crowded with game players eager
to check out Saturn titles such as
Shining the Holy Ark (above and
above right) — the latest RPG in
its highly popular series

Rorokenshin is a sword-fighting game
similar to Bushido Blade but, at this
stage, not so visually impressive.

PaRappa The Rapper was possibly
the strangest — and perhaps even the
most fun — title on show. It's billed as
a children's game with a main
character designed by cartoonist
Rodney Greenblat. The player simply
has to copy the ever-more complex
"rap" moves of characters such as
karate sensei Professor Onion.

The other major title at the Sony
stand was Zen 's new-agey dolphin
game, Depth. In it, the player steers a

dolphin through a very pretty seascape
collecting musical notes, composing
his own soundtrack along the way.
Filling out the booth were the still to
be released Ark The Lad 2, Wild Arms,
and the popular Total NBA.

Sega showed off its

Saturn version of Fighting Vipers to an
eager audience, just a week prior to
the game's Japanese launch. But the
big news was Virtual-On with its
special dual joystick (reminiscent of
Atari's old Battlezone arcade
controls). The standard version of the
robot combat game only offers a one-
player mode, but X-Band players
should soon be able to hook up for
two-player battles.

Sega also unveiled Shining the
Holy Ark, a 3D role-player in the
Shining series, and Daytona USA
Championship Circuit Edition, a
redesign by the Saturn Sega Rally
team running at 30 fps with a split-
screen two-player mode, replays, and
a ghost car mode. Elsewhere, the

What is it?

It is a hexagonal frame
that is placed on the
floor and plugged into
the joypad port of a
Genesis. In theory, you
can now "control" a
game using body
movements. In reality,
though, you can't

Capcom's Star Gladiator was popular on PlayStation, but its showing of
Resident Evil 2 on video (top) was torture for fans of the original

action-packed Saturn Die
Hard was up and runnini
and third-party titles
included Rigtord Saga 2,
Heart Of Darkness, Dark
Savior, and Sakura Taisen.

Capcom did

introduce Resident Evil 2
at the show but remained
cagey about the content of the game
and only played the demo on two
small screens at the back of its
booth. It was more upfront about Star
Gladiator and Street Fighter Alpha 2,
both of which are reviewed this issue.

The biggest attraction on
Konami's stand was the 3D RPG,
Vandal Hearts, although the company
continues to milk Parodiusior all it's

Next Generation OnUne, nttpy/www.iicja £t;iiei'a;iuri.u>ni/

breaking

It is...

Sega's Activator. This
ill-fated peripheral
failed for many reasons,
but primarily because
many players found it
impossible to even start
a game using this wacky
device — let alone
break any high scores

Konami's Vandal Hearts
(top), and SCE's
Rorokenshin (above),
both for PlayStation

worth with two variants — Sexy
Parodius and Oshaberi Parodius
(Forever With Me) for PlayStation
and Saturn. Tokimeki Memorial — a
title based on a sexy young Manga
idol — was also there and has been a
huge success on PlayStation, Saturn,
and Super Famicom in Japan.

Warp's decidedly un-Japanese way
of doing things again provided
welcome relief from stand after stand
of identikit "spokesmodels."
Moments after the show opened,
with just a handful of visitors at its
booth, Warp ran a video showing
boss Kenji Eno and Warp staffers
dancing and singing a song. The
lyrics translated roughly as "EO is a
good game. Warp is a good
company," and after the song, when
Eno was handed a Sony-branded
MuuMuu mascot doll, he immediately
threw it to the floor. (Eno and Warp's
very public snubbing of Sony at a
recent PlayStation Expo ruffled many
feathers in stuffy corporate Japan,
adding to Eno's reputation as
something of a renegade.) Eno also
appeared in person throughout the
show, playing a piano and introducing
some of Warp's artists.

Namco made a much

stronger showing than at recent
expos, introducing two major new
PlayStation titles — Soul Edge and an
as yet unnamed racing game, along
with a six-button fighting stick.

It was no surprise that the
conversion of Soul Edge differs little
from the System 11 arcade original,
so most people crowding around the
big screens at the Namco stand were
focused on the mysterious racer. It's
a completely redesigned Ridge Racer
follow-up, featuring a new Grand Prix
mode in which players earn money to
buy upgrades for their cars. The

Taito's stand let gamers get to grips with
PlayStation titles Ray Storm, Psychic Force.
Namco's PowerVR Rave Racer (left)

standard Ridge Racer controls remain
in place, but apparently the driving
will be "more technical," with some
shrewd gear-changing required on the
undulating circuits. Namco Museum
Volume 4 was also displayed —
according to the company, over
600,000 units of the Museum series
had been sold in Japan to date. So,
retrogaming obviously pays...

Square gave more demos

of the long-awaited Final Fantasy VII
and gave away a CD-ROM graphics
demo. Other demos running on the
Square stand were Final Fantasy
Tactics, Bushido Blade, and Saga
Frontier. Takara showed the latest
titles in the Toshinden series —
Nitoushinden and Toshinden Ura — as
well as Deep Sea Adventure.

Taito had the PlayStation version
of its shooter Ray Storm demoing on
a huge screen that dwarfed their
other major demos — the promising
3D fighter Psychic Force and a
redesigned PlayStation Ray Tracer.

Elsewhere, Banpresto had classic
Toaplan shooter Batsugun on the
Saturn and two PlayStation games —

Nintendo 64

There was no official
Nintendo presence at the
show, but some new N64
games were given public
airings by third parties.
Epoch's Doraemon demo
betrayed a strong Mario
64 influences with
camera views, playing
techniques, and a boss
stage very similar to the
Miyamoto opus. Enix's
N64 role-player, Wonder
Project J2, is a foltow-up
to the Super NES
original, and roughly
follows the format of the
16-bit game. Seta had no
less than three N64
games — combat flight
sim, Wild Choppers, racer
Rev Limit (looking
extremely smooth), and
Ekoo-no-Saint Andrews, a
golf sim set at the
Scottish "home" of golf
and designed to work
with analogue controls.

Square's Final Fantasy VII previews attracted huge crowds of expectant
RPG fans, despite its delay. The company also premiered Bushido Blade

One of SCE's best titles was Beldeselva — a fantasy flight sim with some
crazy airplanes. The game is compatible with a custom dual-handled 'stick

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.nex1-generalion.com/

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.next-generation.com/

breaking

Online gaming via

Nintendo finally
acknowledges
that Nintendo
64's disk drive
add-on may be a
Trojan Horse for
online gaming

64DD — Nintendo's 32X?
Or the device that enables
online gaming?

Nintendo's
Magic Trick

To nobody's great
surprise, Nintendo has
magically produced
450,000 extra Nintendo
64s for the U.S. prompting
retailers to up their
targets for Nintendo 64
this holiday season to "a
minimum of 1.5 million
units." Previously,
Nintendo promoted the
idea of a shortage,
warning gamers that only
500,000 Nintendo 64s
would reach U.S. stores for
the holiday season. In
reality, additional
hardware is arriving to
match demand.

Nintendo claims the
new units are available as
a result of a (presumably
unexpected) "more
efficient manufacturing
process."This, obviously, is
a fallacy and — as
previously suggested by
Next Generation — the
perception of a shortage
was clearly a marketing
gimmick. Nintendo
vehemently denies the
possibility that N64 is
still underachieving in
Japan and that the U.S.
is picking up the
unsold machines.

Nintendo 64DD?

intendo has finally released
I W I final s P ecmcations f° r 64DD,
■Adl the readable/writable
magnetic disk drive add-on for
Nintendo 64. The drive is scheduled
to be released at Tokyo's Shoshinkai
exposition this November and to hit
Japanese streets in the fall of 1997.
Nintendo has revealed that 64DD
attaches to the underside of a
Nintendo 64 console through the
"ext" port. High density 3 3 /4"
magnetic disks are front-loaded
(VCR-style) into the unit, and each
disk holds 64MB of data (44MB of
each disk will be read-only, with
20MB writable). 64DD boasts an
Average Seek Time (AST) of 150
milliseconds and then a 1MB per
second Data Transfer Rate (DTR).
The unit will come with a 1MB or
2MB RAM expansion pack (to be
plugged into N64's memory
expansion slot) to extend the
memory capacity of both the disks
and the cartridges from the standard
4MB. There is no firm news of what
games will appear on 64DD.

The addition of such a

device to Nintendo 64 offers huge
potential for enhanced gameplay. The
convenience of swapping disks with
friends, the ability to save
sophisticated game data, and the
sheer increased amount of RAM all
look to turbocharge what is already a
powerful system. But perhaps the
most exciting possibility, as NG has
discussed before, is the potential to
use 64DD as a means of hooking an
N64 to an online network.
Downloadable software, multiplayer
gaming, customizable levels — the
possibilities are endless.

Up until now, however, Nintendo
has refused to comment on the
subject. The closest it has ever come
to admitting that it has plans in
place to introduce such a service
came in NG 20 when Howard Lincoln,
upon being presented with the online
possibilities 64DD offers, smiled and
conceded, "That's a very astute
observation. And everything you've
said I completely agree with. But,
without trying to be overly coy about

this, we just are not in a position
where we can make an
announcement."

However, some of Next
Generation's readers have recently e-
mailed Nintendo, inquiring about
64DD and have received confirmation
that such an online network may be
in its plans. "By far the most
significant fact about the 64DD is
that it can be written to, not just
read from," offered a Nintendo
spokesperson. And then, "uses may
include ... a means to download
games and programs from network or
satellite sources. Think about some
of the possibilities."

Additionally, Paradigm
Simulations (the co-developers of
PilotWings 64) has confirmed that it
is "actively pursuing Internet
gaming" — and this has to be in
conjunction with Nintendo. Consider
that Nintendo has been toying with

Howard Lincoln, not wishing to be overly
coy about Nintendo's plans, yesterday

satellite and terrestrial gaming
networks in Japan for years, while
Nintendo of America's Gateway
system distributes Nintendo games
via a network in hotels and on
airplanes across the country.
Remember that a "strategic alliance"
with Netscape was announced last
year. Lastly, realize that for all its
bluster, Nintendo understands the
limitations of cartridges as well as
anyone else and would welcome a
viable alternative (downloaded
games are even cheaper to "make"
than CD-ROMs — they're free).
Isn't it fairly easy to see a <-f%o
pattern emerging? LLM

NG Online

update

http://www.next-
generation.com/

Next Generation
Online is the world's
leading computer and
videogame website.
Every weekday,
visitors can indulge in
the following:

• Read the latest
news from the gaming
world. Our first-rate
staff have the best
contacts in the
business.

■ Inspect up-to-the-
minute previews
including visuals and
movie files. The
previews are available
to you the same day
they arrive in the Next
Generation offices.

• Play the newest
demos for PC and
Macintosh. NG Online
doesn't waste time
with trash. All our
demos are hand-
picked by the team.

• Talk with other
gamepiayers via a
daily letters page and
an interactive forum.

• Meet new
gamepiayers or
arrange online game
tournaments through
the Online Palace, a
graphical live chat
environment.

• Ask your gaming
questions to Next
Generation's editors.
Every day, your
queries are answered
in a special Q&A.

• During November
and December, there
will be a series of live
online conferences on
the Palace. We'll be
inviting top industry
insiders and game
designers to answer
your questions.

NG Online is one of
the fastest growing
sites on the web. So,
if you're interested in
games, we'll see you
there. And don't
forget our brand new
sister-site N64.com

Next Generation OnUne, http:/ /www. next-gen eralion.com/

Jamma '96: Konami and

Sega and Namco's
stranglehold on
the world coin-op
market shows
signs of loosening

Capcom gain ground

□

Capcom's CP System III
board will offer untold
2D power. Its first game
will be Warzard (top)

Io real surprises occurred
during this year's JAMMA
show, which took place in
mid-September. Namco's System 33
failed to show despite its main rival
Sega having already kick-started the
future of real-time 3D with Virtua
Fighter 3 hogging most of the
attention on the show floor.

Konami and Capcom fared

better than usual with demos of
games of all genres and some
technological progress. One of the
best games of the show was
Konami "s GTI Club Cote D'Azur
running on new 3D technology (the
company has developed a new board
titled Cobra, in cooperation with
IBM). This linked racing game has
superb graphics, unusual camera
angles, and features cars such as
Minis and Renault 5s careering
around southern France. Konami's
other showstopper was Solar Assault,
the latest installment of its Gradius
series, but this time rendered in
glorious 3D and even housed in its
Speed King cabinet as well as in
conventional stand-up coin-ops.

Of course, Virtua-Fighter 3 was
the fighting game of the show and is
about to be released in Japan any
day. Completed versions of Wave

Sega's Super
Grant Slalom
jockeyed for
position, and the
impressive
Virtua Fighter 3
wowed the
crowds.

Capcom's Street
Fighter EX was a
surprise given
its ambivalence
towards 3D

Namco's Aqua Jet is based on System 22,
but it's not as fun as WaveRace 64

Runner and Sega Touring Car
Championship were also present at
the booth. As far as brand new
games, though, only one was shown
— Super Giant Slalom developed by
AMI. This is an obvious competitor to
Namco's Alpine Racer 2 which also
debuted at the event. Sega's game
features outstanding graphics,
particularly in the night time stages
on illuminated pistes.

While System 33 has

possibly been delayed until the AOU
early next year, Namco seemed short
of new games. Apart from its
wonderful Tokyo War (now playable in
linked form) and Alpine Racer 2 (also
linked), Namco presented AquaJet for
the first time, with graphics similar to
the other jetski games on show from
Sega and Konami but with some
attractive circuits and more of an
emphasis on jumping.

But really it was Capcom that, in
some respects, held most of the
cards. Warzard (running on its new
CPSIll board) and X-Men vs Street
Fighter both proved that there is still
progress to be made in the 2D arena,
while its Tekken 2-1 i ke Street Fighter
EXwas in direct contrast to Street
Fighter III seen briefly on P"**?
video. In 2D... LL£<

Seymour
Cray dies

71-year old computer
wizard Seymour
Cray, who pioneered
the use of transistors
in computers died on
Saturday the 5th of
October, following a
traffic crash.

As the inventor
of RISC (Reduced
Instruction Set
Computing) and the
builder of world
famous super-
computers, Cray is
credited with
revolutionizing
computer speed. "As
long as you can make
them smaller, you can
make them faster,"
Cray once said.

Next Generation OnUne, h tip ://www. next-generation. com/

lightning / doesn't strike twice
in the r-^same place
is that j the same place isn't there
the second time.

/ — Willie Tyler

Digital precision- Deadly accuracy.

Imagine scorching your enemies with razor-sharp
precision. With the world's first digital-optical
joystick, the Sidewinder"- 3D Pro, you'll balance
complex moves with maximum control to get the ulti-
mate in responsive game play. You won't have to
recalibrate, even after hours of play. And every
handle rotation instantly changes your viewpoint.
Digital Overdrive lets the joystick communicate
more efficiently with your Windows 95-based games.
All the better to singe your competition.

1 ^Jt

Microsoft

Where do you want to go today? www.microsoft.com/sidewinder/

61936 Microsoft Corporati

: registered trademarks and Where

breaking

3 P

PC Game Makers Join
Microsoft's "Revolution"

A diverse coalition headed by Microsoft, allied
PC game publishers, and arcade owners are
launching what they call a revolution in the
arcade videogame industry. Since the business
first began back in 1979, coin-operated
videogames have most often been sold as
complete packages, and this means that
arcades are required to buy new hardware and
cabinets almost every time they purchase a new
game. Today's prices run as high as $6,000 for
standard upright videos and as high as $25,000
per unit for deluxe sit-down simulators.

Microsoft and its allies plan to change all that.
They are boldly challenging status-quo leaders like
Sega and Namco by setting up a radically different
alternative delivery method, as originally proposed
by the National Amusement Network (NANI). The
proposed method will include three massive,
related shake-ups:

(1) Universal, standard hardware — arcade
videogame cabinets equipped with standard,
upgradeable, Windows-based PC engines — will
be created and adopted.

(2) This, in turn, will enable game software
from dozens, perhaps hundreds, of publishers to
be adapted and sold for arcade use, at a cost of
under $1,000 per title to arcade owners.

(3) It will also permit game software to be
downloaded to locations, rather than hand-
delivered as is the case now. (Eventually the
Microsoft/NANI setup is also expected to enable
real-time remote multiplayer gameplay, too.)

Williams/Bally-Midway, creators of War
Gods and the Mortal Kombat games, is the first
"traditional" arcade videogame manufacturer to
switch over to the new paradigm with at least
one product capable of using the NANI system.
(It's a countertop multi-menu piece with simple
videogames for bars and taverns.) More arcade-
oriented titles from this Chicago factory may well
be offered for NANI use in future months.

NANI's plans have been kicked around in
public discussions — and in this column — for a
couple of years. But suddenly, with the backing
of Microsoft and a concrete list of game
publishers, what was once theory is now looking
very much like reality. At press time, insiders
confirmed that several independent PC game
developers and publishers plan to join Microsoft
in supporting the NANI concept with software.
Although no formal announcement came on
September 26 at the AMOA International Expo
(a Dallas trade show), it was hinted that other
game publishers are waiting in the wings.

Now the question for the arcade business is
this: Who will win the war to establish the
dominant business model? Will it be the
traditional coin-op giants with their dedicated
platforms? Or, will it be the newcomers like
Microsoft and NANI with their "open" systems,
which run like the U.S. computer industry?

Stay tuned!

Microsoft's Arcade Apps

In a move firmly tied to the NANI initiative,
Microsoft is developing software architecture
for arcade applications, starting with a function
called DirectArcade that will run on Windows NT
4.0. DirectArcade performs as an interface to
give a PC game all the functions — pay-for-play,
cabinet harness connections, joystick
movements, and so on — that are necessary to
make a PC game arcade-ready. PC game
developers will be able introduce their games to
arcades first, knowing that any title that proves
an arcade hit will presumably become a mega-
hit when it goes to the home PC market. The
arcade exposure can also serve as a massive
beta test program to let publishers tinker with
gameplay until it's perfect, prior to PC release.

Microsoft, NANI, and their allies believe the
back-inventory of thousands of existing PC game
titles represents a potential gold mine for
everybody involved. Beyond adapting existing PC
games to arcades, NANI and Microsoft are also
actively encouraging game publishers and
authors to develop brand new PC-based games
with equal emphasis on arcade suitability.

Konami Boasts 5 million
Polygons Per Second

Suddenly the coin-op videogame factories are
exploding with new advanced graphics hardware.
The major fall trade show, the AMOA Expo,
featured CG graphics from — well, everybody.
Only Capcom and Data East were out of the
mainstream; they're sticking to their traditional
martial arts style fighting games and 2D
graphics. For now.

Super-realistic graphics were in Sega's Virtua
Fighter 3, as expected. However, Konami claims
its forthcoming "Cobra" system (created as a joint
venture with IBM) will vault right past the Sega
Model 3 platform. Konami claims that games using
Cobra will process 5 million polygons per second.
The limited preview of a Cobra-based fighting game
it demonstrated in Dallas only showcased the
hardware running at one million polygons per
second — no explanation was offered as to why.

Atari also has an undisclosed "mindblowing"
fighting game on the way that it hopes will
challenge VF3 for graphic dominance in arcade
fighting pieces. Look for these advanced Konami
and Atari fighters by the spring of '97.

Meanwhile, this fall and winter, you'll see
several super-fun sitdown driving simulators with
photorealistic, texture-mapped CG graphics and
inventive gameplay twists. Williams/Bally-
Midway's new Cruisin' World, was voted best new
game of the show by arcade owners, but much of
their vote was based on its low price. Players may
vote for Sega's Touring Car Championship, Atari's
San Francisco Rush, Konami's Winding Heat,
Namco's Tokyo Wars, or even Jaleco's GP Racing.

Oh, and get ready to burn rubber (or churn
H 2 0) at your local arcade as a flood of p-w-,
jetski titles are heading you way...

IT THINKS.

Created by Shiny Entertain merit, Inc. © 1996 Shiny Entertainment Inc. MDK is a trademark of Shiny Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved. Artwork and design
© 1996 Playmates Interactive Entertainment Inc. PIE'" is a registered trademark ot Playmates Interactive Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved.

Stuff every gamer
should know. This
month, one of history's
greatest game makers:

No. 7
Infocom

So who or what is
Infocom? It's a
development house in
Cambridge, Mass., that
was active in the '80s.
What did it do? Really
good text adventures.
Seriously? Yes.
Why should I care?
Well, not only was it
one of the first truly
commercial game
houses, but its
adventure games were
some of the first — and
finest — of the genre.
But aren't adventures
better now, with plenty
of graphics, and no
irritating typing? Not
necessarily. With just
text. Infocom's
developers could
create much larger
worlds, limited only by
a player's imagination
— not by art or video
restrictions. Also,
keyboard input enables
a much more complex
and varied interaction
with a game than a
simple mouse can.
So what went wrong?
Only a relatively small
number of gamers are
willing to play text
games. And. as the
industry grew, this
audience stayed static,
and it became harder
to achieve what was
becoming acceptable
sales. Also, Infocom
lost its shirt on a failed
database product.
And then? Activision
bought the company,
fired everyone, and
now uses the label to
periodically re-release
the text games, and
high-tech "remakes."
Do they play as well as
the old games? Not
even close.

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5?W

Force Feedback: The Coming "Sense" in Gaming

ideogames have traditionally
involved visual and auditory
I feedback — you see and
hear what's going on in the game.
One form of feedback has not been
well explored in the commercial
realm of gaming — haptic feedback

— that of feeling what's going on in
the game world.

Last month, we covered the
distant potential of tactile feedback

— that of delicate pressure to the
player's skin. This month, we
examine the more attainable world of
force feedback.

In the world of gaming,

force feedback could be used to
recreate the aerodynamic forces on
your banking fighter in a flight sim,
the roughness of terrain when moving
through an RPG, the kick-back of a
shotgun in Quake 2, or the weight of
your about-to-be body-slammed
opponent in Virtua Fighter 4.

Force feedback involves
applying forces to the body that act
through a person's muscular,
skeletal, and balance systems.
Force feedback is intended to make
the overall body feel sensations,
rather than just tactile feedback's
fingertips. It has the added benefit
of also creating a rough sense of
tactile feedback as well.

If all this sounds far-fetched,
you've probably actually experienced
it already. Games like Sega's Daytona
USA and Atari's Hard Drivin' offer
basic force-feedback steering wheels.

Force feedback was researched
extensively at places like the
University of Utah and M.l.T. in
combination with the U.S. Defense
Department. Originally, force
feedback research focused on
industrial/defense projects where
humans could control some type of
robot from a remote location. This
robot would usually be used in a
place that offered a lot of physical
risk to humans, like a radioactive
ciean-up zone or in defusing a bomb.

These research projects focused
on providing force feedback through
two different methods. The first and
more massive method was the
M.l.T./University of Utah "ARM." A
user would wear the "ARM"
exoskeleton over his real arm, and
the "ARM" would then recreate
forceful movement based on
information received from the remote

robot. The "ARM" looked like a
knight's armor ppwered by massive
motors, and it had to have extensive
safeguards built into it so that the
user's arm literally was not ripped out
of the body. As you might expect, not
too many volunteers or researchers
were excited about participating.
This is one situation where the user
might not want to be a beta-tester!

The second and simpler method
of force feedback has involved
"motorizing" an existing interface —
for example, adding motors to control
or limit the movement of a joystick or
steering wheel (such as with Hard
Drivin' and Daytona USA).

History has shown us that this
method will prevail over the
exoskeleton method. There are many
reasons why, but basically consumers
don't like "wearing" peripherals,
which tend to be prohibitively
expensive.

In 1996, two major

business announcements bring force
feedback technology back to the
news. The first is the announcement
by CH Products that it will offer force
feedback joystick technology from a
California company named Immersion
(see NG 17).

The other activity is Microsoft's
acquisition of Exos, the force-
feedback exoskeleton hand company.

The big news in both
announcements is that these two
major competitors in the joystick
business are gearing up for their next
battle. The good news for consumers
will be that the battle will bring a
high quality force feedback
experience to home systems.

While both companies are
offering great technology and the
quality of the joystick-based force
feedback experience is high, the
next 12 months of market
experiments by force-feedback
joystick producers will be heavily
influenced by how well new exciting
games integrate the force-feedback
technology into the game — will
developers use them?

If these companies can make
force-feedback integration easy,
robust, and powerful for game
makers, force feedback is here to
stay. If not, expect the market to
exert some force feedback of its own
and push the early products f%n
out of the game.

'Next Generation OnUne, http;//www,next-generation,com/

0 0]

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breaking

NINTENDO 64 FRENZY
NEWSLINE: The Nintendo 64 retail
feeding frenzy went as smoothly as anyone could
have expected. That is, not very smoothly at all.
Nintendo had rather hopefully put a September 29
deadline on the on-sale date. But virtually every
retailer in the country was shifting boxes by the
26th. Nintendo, realizing that it could not hope to
stop the malaise, yielded. Most retailers sold
hardware stocks as soon as they arrived.
BOTTOMLINE: The much-cherished
Grand Launch Day is a thing of the past. Retailers
are simply not prepared to suffer boxes sitting in
their storerooms, while anxious customers pace up
and down in their showrooms. It just ain't natural.
At least the major chains had the decency to ask
the people at Nintendo if they minded terribly if the
deadline was broken. Nintendo didn't mind at all.

VIRGIN SUCKS UP VIACOM
NEWSLINE: In yet another example of
corporate streamlining and merging, Virgin has
taken on responsibility for the publishing,
marketing, and administration of Viacom New
Media's product portfolio and development team.
The move could mean up to 70 lost jobs at
Viacom's New York headquarters.
BOTTOMLINE: Unfortunately for those
losing their jobs, it all makes sense. Virgin is
wholly owned by Spelling which is 77% owned by
the sprawling media megopolis which is Viacom.
Why run two separate publishing interests each
replicating many functions? Especially as (let's
face it) Virgin's publishing record has dwarfed
Viacom New Media's. Large media companies are
learning the hard way that software publishing is
best left to dedicated software publishers.

TEN GOES LIVE

NEWSLINE: Total Entertainment Network
became the first online gaming provider to emerge
from the pupae of beta testing. It went live in late
September.

BOTTOMLINE: As well as the
complications of half a dozen providers vying for
marketshare, companies like TEN also have much
to fear from software publishers. Many may well
follow Id's example and set up free networks as an
added service for individual games. But being first
has done TEN no harm at all in the short term, and
sets the stage for a big online war in 1997.

STAT HAPPY SONY
NEWSLINE: A self-assertive Sony has
been toasting its worldwide PlayStation success
as it released new detailed accounts of global
hardware and software sales. Worldwide sales
have now reached 7.2 million units. The installed
base in the US is 2.1 million. In Japan it has
topped 3.5 million while Europe accounts for 1.6
million. Sony also claims a 6:1 software to
hardware ratio, indicating software sales in excess
of 40 million units.

BOTTOMLINE: Even die-hard industry
cynics must agree PlayStation is flying. In North
America, it's outselling the Sega Saturn by
something like 3:1. The ratio is similar in Europe.
It's worth recalling that three years ago Sega was
the darling of the game industry and Sony's plans
were just an optimistic blueprint.

PANDEMONIUM fij CA

NEWSLINE: Electronic Arts has scooped
the rights to publish Crystal Dynamics's
Pandemonium. The San Mateo, CA-based
publishing giant will be releasing the 3D platformer
at the end of this year.

BOTTOMLINE: Since relinquishing its
position as a bona fide publisher, Crystal Dynamics
has moved from moribund industry player to bright
young thing. The decision to market games before
publishing deals have been tied up appears to be
working with Dynamics cherry-picking publishers it
feels appropriate for certain products. Or, perhaps,
simply waiting for the best offer.

GAMES LEAD TO GAMBLING?

NEWSLINE: Videogames are leading
young people into a life of gambling, according to
Senator Jay Dardenne. The Louisiana Senator
points out that, according to a recent survey, one
in seven Louisianans ages 18 to 21 is a compulsive
gambler. He said: "There is all too easy a leap
from videogames to video poker."
BOTTOMLINE: Videogames are proven
to be a favorite target of politicians. Not only are
we led to believe that games lead to poor levels of
education, short attention spans, tendencies
toward violence, and dismal social skills, but we
also asked to swallow that Baku Baku is the first
step toward video poker hell. The encouraging
news is that very few appear willing to
subscribe to this BS. LL U,

'Next Generation OnUne, htlp://www. next-generation.com/

Data

Number of Nintendo
64s sold in the first
week of sale in the
U.S.: 300.000
Number of copies of
the album "Smurfs Go
Pop" sold in its first
seven weeks on
release: 200,000
Number of people
currently beta-testing
3D0's internet game.
Meridian 59: 25,000
Amount of time
they've collectively
spent playing the
game since December
1995: 500,000 hours
Percentage of lottery
jackpot winners who
choose to return to
work: 51%

Number of America On-
line members,
according to America
OnLine: 6.2 million
Decrease in body
temperature of the
average American due
to prolonged over-use
of central heating:
1 degree centigrade
According to a USSB
Telescoop survey
"Portrait of the
American Household."
percentage of
Americans who leave
the TV on to keep a
pet company: 15%
Percentage who
consider watching TV
with their children to
be a family activity:
78%

Percentage of
Americans who said
they could not live
without television:
19%

Amount Demi Moore
earned to appear in
Strip Tease:
S12.5 million
Copies of the Street
Fighter II anime video ..
sold in the U.S.:
200.000
Total box office
takings from Mortal
Kombat:
S70 million
Number of households
in the U.S. with TV
sets: 97 million
Cost to Warner for
resigning rock group
R.E.M.: $88 million

breaking

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Online Gaming Has A Long Way To Go

I love online gaming as much as
the next guy — probably more.
I I've spent countless hours on
games like Kesmai's multiplayer
BattleTech (the original VGA version)
and AOL's Neverwinter A/ /grits. When
these games first went online, it was easy
to believe that this was truly the start of
something very, very big.

Recently, I've been hoping to catch
some of my initial buzz playing online
again, but I haven't been able to find my
misplaced enthusiasm. We've got a long
way to go before all our online gaming
dreams are realized, and I hate to say it,
but those who think that trouble-free,
super-fast, online multiplayer gaming is
just around the corner are going to be
sorely disappointed when they log on.

I've read some editorials in

some magazines that say the Internet's
going to deliver it all, video, audio, news,
games. Yeah, right. Right when Jaguar
makes a triumphant comeback.

Why am I of so little faith? Follow
me: Games are the most demanding
computer application around, at least to
the general public. But a gamer's
appetite for new technology is always
underestimated, and — as always —
technological advances are seemingly
never enough.

When the Pentium was released, no
one at Intel thought it would be gamers
that would adopt their P5 first. (Their
corporate customers sat around and
thought, Vl hey, my 486 is fine — what do
I need an upgrade for?") Ditto with
Windows 95; home users have jumped
on it faster than corporate offices (who
are waiting for Windows NT).

I've always known that games drive
the computer. We put up with IRQ
conflicts to get better sound, unstable
drivers to eke out video speed, and a
spiraling introduction of faster CPUs to
get a few more frames per second. But
many people seem to believe that game
technology is easy, and that "if you build
it, they will come."

So we come to the online world.
Look at this news development: America
OnLine purchased INN, The ImagiNation
Network. AOL's Steve Case claims that
people rely on AOL as much as on their
telephone and TV. But AOL is the service
that went down for a whole day,
stranding people who rely on AOL's
services for work and play. AOL is the

company that on at least two occasions
in the last month wouldn't allow me to
access my e-mail.

So sorry Steve, but my telephone
doesn't go down on me all day (unless
there's a natural disaster), and my
television always lets me play back the
episode of "The X-Files" I recorded. And
yet AOL is going to provide gateways to
Engage and/or ImagiNation Network?
I'm really going to play the impressive-
looking Red Baron 2 on a system that
can't even deliver my e-mail? Before this
becomes an AOL flame story, the
Internet in some ways is no different,
through no fault of my ISP.

DTI (www.dti.net) has all line (a
good-sized pipe, though noT3) and
provides my ISDN access, and off-peak,
it flies. But when net traffic is up, my
ISDN connection sometimes slows to a
crawl. While a game that doesn't rely on
latency might run fine ODO's online
fantasy R PG Meridian 59 seems to fall
in this category, as does Blizzard's
Diablo), how are games like Mercenaries
going to react to the unpredictable
Internet? My guess: not well. It'll run
great sometimes, or like your hero broke
his leg when Net traffic is high.

Yes, the online gaming

services are claiming low latencies, below
200 ms (your PC trades information
with the host server five times a second).
But if they manage to provide this
consistently, I'll eat their pick of any NG
cover. The only people that can solve this
problem are the mysterious men in black
at MCI, Sprint, and AT&T, who own
much of the communications backbone
around the country. When they upgrade
to faster routers, fiber optics, and ADSL,
we'll get faster throughput, more
reliability, and lower latency.

But I'm not holding my breath.
Instead, I'm looking closer to home. In
fact, some of the best multiplayer game
experiences have been in my apartment.
My home LAN just got a new member:
the 3Com Modem+ Ethernet PC Card
has given me reliable 28.8K modem
access and speedy LAN connectivity, so I
can play a four person deathmatch here,
with Duke or Quake. Got a notebook and
a PC? Then you can have a LAN.

And you can taunt anyone who
cares to listen within earshot, without
a bandwidth-gobbling r"" w ?
DSVD connection. L^fJ

Next Generation Online, Mtp: //www. next-gene ration .0

G D§ET

Peripherals, accessories, gizmos,
add-ons, thingies, and stuff

SideWinder

Price: $39.95
Manufacturer:
Microsoft
System: PC

Much as it pains us to
admit that Microsoft can
do anything right, it seems
to have done it again. The
SideWinder game pad
may very well be the best
game pad available for PC. It seems odd that at a time when
console game pads (starting with the Nintendo 64) are striving
to offer analog control, PC game pads are stretching to
accommodate digital functions, but hey, that's the way it is. The
SideWinder features an eight-way digital pad, six buttons,
including two trigger buttons under the index fingers, and
complete programmabihty. It also feels incredible. Nice work.

Wireless Pro Controller

Price: $24.95
Manufacturer: Naki
System: PlayStation

This is the wireless version of Naki's Pro Controller (dull), which
came to be nicknamed "The Fat Pad" thanks to its, um, generous
proportions. Wireless pads have an inherent appeal in theory, but
generally tend to fall short in execution. To its credit, the WPC

lasts longer than most on a pair
of AAA batteries and is less
picky than some about range
and angle to the receiver
(although package claims of 30'
feet are somewhat
exaggerated). Still, that fat old
thing just doesn't sit well in the
hand, the buttons don't give
much feedback, and wireless or
no, it offered zero functionality
over the standard PlayStation
pad. Keep looking.

Superpad 64 Plus

Price: $24.95

Manufacturer: Performance/Inter Act
System: Nintendo 64

The first third-party pad for the N64 seems like a morph job
between Nintendo's Batarang and the PlayStation pad. Although
unwieldy at first, given enough time you can probably get used to
the clumsy, non-symmetrical design. The six buttons are placed
nicely for fighting games, and the analog stick has a tighter feel
than Nintendo's. But the D-pad just feels wrong and the shoulder
and trigger buttons are awkwardly placed. Still, it's cheaper than
the Nintendo pads and seems to be just as sturdy — so if you need
an extra pad, at least there's an alternative.

breaking

Datebook

November

IAPPA, the International Association of Amusements and
Attractions, is like a big arcade show except for the simulators,
rides, and amusement attractions for which it's famous. Closed to
the public, it is held from November 20 to 23 in New Orleans, LA,
at the New Orleans Convention Center. Call (703) 236-4800 for
more information or accommodation inquiries.

Comdex will take place in Las Vegas, NV from November 17 to 21
and is open to the public. For more information on this enormous
show, call (617) 449-6600.

Nintendo Corporate Limited's Shoshinkai will be the place for all in
the game industry worldwide who are interested in finding out more
about the 64DD add-on for Nintendo 64. It will also see the
unveiling of Zelda 64 and whatever other software Nintendo
manages to get ready in time. Not open to the public. For more
information contact Nintendo at (213) 623-4200.

December

Fall Internet World will happen December 10 to 13 at the Javits
Convention Center, NY. Call Mecklermedia at (203) 341-2855.

April

Computer Game Developer's Conference (CGDC) will take place
April 25 to 29 at the Santa Clara Convention Center, Silicon Valley,
CA. The show is for programmers, writers, producers, product
managers, artists, musicians, and assorted supergeeks. To get on
the mailing list, send your vitals (name, title, company name,
address, and so on) to cgdc@mfi.com. Those interested in
exhibiting, call Gina Bovero at (415) 356-3406 or e-mail
gbovero@mfi.com. Visit the web site at http://www.cgdc.com. If
you're interested in joining the Computer Game Developer's
Association (you get a $25 discount on the show), call (415) 948-
CGDC or fax (415) 948-2744.

May

Multimedia 97 Exposition and Forum will take place May 6 to 9 at
the Metropolitan Toronto Convention Center, Toronto, Canada. The
show features five major components: Multimedia
Communications, Virtual Reality World, VICOM, Showcase On
Production, and Electronic Design. For more information call (905)
660-2491, fax (905) 660-2492, or e-mail moreinfo@multimedia.ca.
Official WWW-site: http://multimedia.magic.ca

June

The one and only Electronic Entertainment Exposition (aka E3)
takes place in Atlanta on June 19 through June 21. Open to the
public for one day. Visit http://www.mha.com/e3/ for more
information on E3.

SHOW ORGANIZERS: If your show isn't listed here it's because we
don't know about it. FAX us on (415) 468-4686; E-mail us at
ngonline@tmagine-inc.com; or write us at Date Book. Next
Generation. 150 North Hill Drive. Brisbane. CA 94005. See? Simple

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.next-generation.ci

150 Shoreline Drive
Redwood City, CA 94065
1-888-734-2763

O b | ec ti v c : A full-time position shooting things

Education:

Shooting things

Work Experience: Shooting zombies
Shooting robots
Shooting mutants
Shooting mafia crime bosses
Shooting mannequins
Shooting cult leaders

Special Skills:

Interests:
References:

Shooting things with D-pad
Shooting things with gun
Shooting things with D-pad and gun
Shooting things with D-pad and partner
Shooting things with gun and partner
Shooting things with gun in each hand

Guns, ammo, shooting things

Don Cortese: Deceased
Chuck Brown: Deceased
Barry Polipooey: Deceased

for employment starting November "

This isn't a game, it's a war. So be prepared for battle. Now, enough military
analogies, let's talk football. This is NFL GameDay '97. It's better than any
football game ever created. The artificial intelligence in this game is
unmatched. Players on the field think, react and perform like they do in
the NFL. Defenses and offenses learn your tendencies and key on them,
other words, there are no bread and butter plays to go to on third and 1
You'll go head-on with real defensive coverages, including nickel and di
packages and Dallas' Cover 4. Defensive fronts attack your offensive
with stunts and swim techniques. And with new, larger players yi
guards and tackles trapping and pulling. This game is loa
features, too. This is real football, baby. So welcome to the NFL.

IUU

AND WHAT

ARMY?

are registered trademarks of the National Football League. Officially licensed product ol the NFL Players and NFL Properlies. NFL learn names, logos, tielmel designs and uniform designs are registered trademarks of the leam indicated.
©/TM 1996 NFLP. The Players Inc logo isanolficial trademark oilheNFL Players. © 1996 Players Inc. Developed by Sony Inleraclive Studios America.© 1996Sony Interaclive Enterlainment Inc. wuuw.sony.com PANCAKE

ideogaming is not a
sport for wimps. If a
gamer truly wants to
stay on the cutting edge,
it requires taking a
gamble every now and
then. And when it comes to investing in a
new system, the stakes run in to the
hundreds of dollars. All new hardware
platforms promise the moon, but at each
new system's birth, a gamer handing over
hard-earned dollars to be the first on the
block to own it has no guarantee that the
system will ever even successfully leave
the launch pad. Even established consoles
can suddenly fail — especially if
superceded by more powerful rivals.

In the run-up to the holiday

season of 1 996, there are three major
home consoles vying for your gaming
dollar — Nintendo's 64, Sega's Saturn, and
Sony's PlayStation. Obviously, the PC is a
viable game platform also, but since a it
costs ten times the price of a TV-based
console, Next Generation doesn't
believe that it is in the same market. Also,
we don't believe that M2 will launch with
any kind of muscle within the next 12
months, so we wouldn't advise holding off

ng special

THE STORY SO FAR

health as it launched
Jaguar could have

:ted the system's
ly, anyone
ack record with
would have probably
same conclusion. The

on a purchase in
anticipation of
Matsushita getting its
act together. So the choice for gamers is
really between these three major
platforms. But before we get started on
the merits of each system, it's worth
reflecting on why we have to make such a
difficult decision in the first place.

All diehard gamers have

been suckered by ill-fated new technology
at least once {and if you haven't, you
probably haven't been taking enough
chances). Recent examples of videogame
hardware that left gamers stranded
include 3DO, Jaguar, 32X, Virtual Boy,
TurboGrafxl6, and Sega CD. The problem
is that at the start of a system's life, a
gamer has to place a lot of trust in the
hardware and the company behind it. But
one thing that the ups and downs of Atari,
Nintendo, and Sega {and the rise from
nowhere of Sony) prove is that it's difficult
to trust any company in this business for
longer than five minutes. Today's winner

As mentioned elsewhere in this
feature, it's difficult to place trust in
any videogame hardware company
{it's too easy for success or failure to
be reversed overnight). But that's not
to say that it's not worth studying a
system's roots: Why was it launched?
What is the parent company trying to
achieve? How committed is this
company to its system's success? And
— bottom line — how powerful is
the parent company, anyway?
Obviously, the answers to these
questions will help any gamer decide
which console has the best backing.

can become tomorrow's struggling loser
faster than most gamers can say
"Welcome to the next level."

So why isn't there one single
videogame format, in the same way that
there is just one format of CD player, or
VCR, or TV, or audio tape player? Most
consumer electronics products follow
some form of industry standard. In this
way, you can be sure that all makes of TVs
plug in to all makes of VCRs.and that
CDs from all record labels work on CD
players from all hi-fi manufacturers. But

prolong
ifespan {and
e even make a
little additional profit along the way),
all manufacturers release a peripheral
or two. Each of the three main
console contenders has an expensive,
high-profile add-on in the works. And
these, as well as the console itself,
have to be considered when
evaluating the strengths, weaknesses,
and potential of each system.

MARKETING
MUSCLE

Sell, sell, sell!

Total marketing budget,
Oct-December: $XX million

t's been said that doing
business without
advertising is like
winking at a girl in the
dark — you know what
you are doing, but nobody else does.

Indeed, it's true to say that how a
product is marketed is just as
important as the product itself when
it comes to selling large numbers to
mainstream America^ Sure, a diehard
gamer may know better, but for many
many ordinary citizens out there, the
only thing known about which system
to buy is what's learned from Sega,
Sony, and Nintendo's TV commercials.
The console giants know this, and the
three will combine to spend $164
million on marketing this quarter.

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.nett-genetalion.com/

ng special

impo

here's a saying chat
nobody wants an
electronic drill — they
want holes in a wall. The

same is true with

videogaming. No one buys a game
machine because they feel a desire to
own a stylish lump of grey plastic
they want to play games.

So obviously, it is the games
themselves that should be the number
one priority in deciding which system
to own. But even this decision isn't as
straightforward as it may seem.

Given that you can t have

everything (unfortunately, this world
isn't perfect) would you rather have
quality or quantity of games? Can you
live without sports titles? Do you have
to have that favorite arcade conversion?

TECH

t's becoming
increasingly difficult to
compare system
specifications on a hard
number-by-number
lasis. As technology becomes more
nd more sophisticated, terms like
polygons per second" have less and
ess meaning. Still, most people like
<nowing exactly what their systems
can do. For them we've provided the
most complete tech specs ever
published. While it's meaningless to
try to use these specs to compare
systems directly (anyone want to
argue that the Jaguar's 64 bits make it
more powerful than PlayStation?)
these specs give an idea of the
different systems' potential.

its make it

tion?),

the

is the magic of the supposed "best game
ever" lost on you? Are your
gaming tastes broad? Or are you
looking for a lot of titles in a
particular gaming genre?

There are many questions
gamers must ask themselves.
Additionally, there are
questions to ask the people
making these games: How
easy is the system to work
with? Have we seen all j£
that it has to offer, or is
there potential for j
greater games in the
future? All these factors
make the difference
between a console that can
provide great gameplay over the
distance, and one that will fail
early on in its lifespan.

have you tried plugging a Jaguar cart into a
PlayStation? Why doesn't this one
particular industry work the same way as
theTV.VCR, or hi-fi industry? What gives?

There are three reasons why
videogaming doesn't tow the standard line.
Reason one is that videogaming is still a
very young, immature (in the business
sense) industry. And with immaturity
comes volatility — and hence the
rollercoaster,"boom to bust" ride that
hardware companies have experienced
over videogaming's 25 short years. Each
new generation of hardware wipes the
industry's slate clean, with success in one

generation — so far at least — never
guaranteeing success in the next.

Reason two has to do with the
importance of technological evolution. All
consumer electronics industries —
including CD players, TVs, VCRs, and
videogames — include both software and
hardware. The CD business has music
(software) and CD players (hardware).

The TV industry has TV
shows and movies
(software) and TV sets
(hardware). But
videogaming is the
only industry in
which the end
experience is
extensively
reliant on both
software and
hardware. Sure,
a $2,000 big
screen TV is
going to display a better
picture than a $200 portable,
B — but essentially the viewing
experience is the same
(the TV show is either
enjoyable, or it sucks).
Not so with a videogame
platform, where technological muscle can
revolutionize the gaming experience (Super
Mario 64 simply would not be possible on
last year's technology). Hence, as long as
gamers continue to demand bigger and
brighter software, technology has to keep
up. And that means the regular
introduction of new platforms.

The third, and perhaps most

weighty reason, why videogaming refuses
to settle down to one unified standard has
to do with how the hardware companies
make money. Because game systems are
traditionally aimed at kids, the price of a
new Sega, Sony, or Nintendo console has

UNDER THE HOOD

Pamela Lee isn't the only one packing some sexy silicon...

o one buys a car without
looking under the hood,
but few stores will rip
open an N64 on request,
so we've done it for you.
Checking out the innards of a system
is important for a couple of reasons.
First, being able to ascertain the neatness

of the electrical engineers who designed
the system can tell volumes about a
system's design and potential.

Also, frankly, it's simply interesting to
see systems at a chip level, complete with
identifications of key chips and areas on
the board. And, finally, we've gotten
hundreds of letters asking us to do it.

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.nexl-generation.cony

to be kept low. Early on in the history of
home consoles Nintendo figured out that
if they could ensure future profits from
software, then they could afford to sell
their hardware systems at little or no
profit. In many cases, videogame hardware
is actually sold at a loss.

The flip side of this coin, however, is
that to guarantee software profits, the
hardware manufacturer also has to have
control of the software market. And that
means either releasing all the games itself
{not practical — gamers demand a large
library of software), or making sure that
when someone else makes a game for its
system, it takes a healthy slice of the
profits. And this, through licensing and
manufacturing fees, is exactly what Sega,
Sony, and Nintendo do.

The only way to ensure this software
control, however, is to own all the patents
and rights to the particular hardware that
the software is written for. And that
means designing a proprietary system.

Eventually, it is expected that

the videogame industry will fall into line
with other forms of consumer electronics
(or so many experts think). But the failure
ofTrip Hawkins's to introduce such a
unified standard with 3DO showed
everyone just how far off this dream is.

Which brings us back to our starting
point: Buying a new videogame platform
in 1996 can be a risky investment. A
console's success doesn't just depend on
the raw power of the hardware (GameBoy
outsold Atari's Lynx). It doesn't just
depend on being the first with new

technology (TurboGrafx

^L CD, anyone?). It
f^k doesn't just depend
on having the best
game (there's still no
j^ft guarantee that
H^P Nintendo 64 will
f Hj| catch up with
||v PlayStation). It
B|k doesn't just depend
on having the
neatest marketing
gimmick (jaguar
wmm was "the world's
first 64-bit game
console!"). And it
doesn't just depend on
being the cheapest (it's
now possible to pick up
a 3DOfor under $100
— but are you buying?)
The harsh reality

ng special

is that the "best" system, the console that
will offer the best gaming experience both
today and tomorrow, is often the one that
thrives best in the marketplace. The
system that sells the most has the
brightest looking future, as success secures
future support from game developers, and
drives prices down. Market forces at
work, ladies and gentlemen — it's an often
harsh, but nevertheless beautiful thing.

And what determines a game system's
commercial success? There are five main
factors: hardware muscle, software
support, the library of games both
currently available and due to be released,
the marketing strategy promoting the
system, and the future prognosis of the
system, based on the resources and will of
the manufacturer, and where the system is
in its life cycle. Each of these factors, for
each machine, is discussed over the
following pages.

In the end , though, it doesn't
matter which system you own, as long as
you enjoy it. It's been said that to some,
videogaming is a matter of life and death,
but that to Next Generation and its
readers, it's a lot more important than
that. It's true — but only because
it can be so much fun. ^3

TECHNO-
LOGY

Useful benchmark,
or red herring?

omparing system
hardware can be
deceiving. Can N64 be
on top, with 64-bit
chips, if it can only store
12MB of data on carts versus 650MB
for PlayStation? Is PlayStation's
hardware design too elegant, removing
the possibility for future price cuts
through hardware integration? Does
Saturn have more potential, and thus
more power, than PlayStation?

The answers aren't always clear, and
often vary depending on individual
needs and desires (an RPG fan will
probably want a system with more
storage space than a puzzle game
junkie). But while technology must be
carefully considered before any
purchase decision is made, it should
never be the only purchase criterion.

C0NCL0SI0N

System Scores

Demonstrable hardware power
*****

Current software library
*****

Future software prognosis
*****

Marketing muscle
*****

Overall future prognosis
*****

Final score
★★★★*

Next Generation OnUne, hHp://www.next^eneration,com/

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your 32-bit system to the limit!

faster, higher intensity action:
With new quick-response controls and
awesome power-ups including invincibility,
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Check us at www.vie.com

FlXjf'o. 1ST _

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ng special

PLAYSTATION

Format: Sony PlayStation

Launched: December 3, 1994

U.S. Release Date: September 9, 1995

Origin: Japan

U.S. sales: 1.7 million

Worldwide sales: 6.1 million

U.S. titles: 140 approx

Worldwide titles: 350 approx

U.S. retail Price: $199

PlayStation raced quickly to the head of the 32-bit
pack. But now that Nintendo 64's joined the next-
generation race, can Sony's first game system maintain
its lead? With a large library of games, many say yes.
But with a questionable software strategy and under-
powered compared to its 64-bit rival, many also say no

Naxt Generation Online, http://vmw.next-generation.com/

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.ne it-generation. com/

MARKETING MUSCLE

ng special

saw a sharp exec
game marketing stra
now trying to break the mold

Total marketing budget,
Oct-Dec 1996: $50 million

layStation's original

Pf 995 U.S. marketing
push was coordinated
by agency Chiat-Day in
L.A. (the same
company that created
Apple's " 1 984" Macintosh campaign). It
aimed squarely at 17-year old males,
under the (questionable) notion that
older gamers, when they play, revert
psychologically into 17-year olds the
second the controller hits sweaty palm.
After Sony's ■ t

aborted attempt at
creating a mascot, H
Polygon Man, the H Hf^^^B
campaign used |I JS

Sophia from jfrl Av' i^g

Toshinden t\\ W ■. t

PlayStation's C *^L|

mascot. The TV j ^jL_IT ^BB|l
spots featured
lightning fast jump-

cuts, quick shots of gameplay, attitude-
laden characters, and a taunting tagline:
"You are not " (red "e" — ready —
geddit?). TV ads de-emphasized the Sony
brand (presumably, gamers associated it
Imagesoft dogs like johnny Mnemonic). At
point of purchase, however, the Sony
name was more prominent, to lure in a
more traditional audience (parents).

While we suppose it takes

skill to come up with new ways to "shock"
an increasingly jaded audience, Sony's initial
campaign did nothing to challenge Sega's
dominance. In 1996, however, things are
BH^HM different. Sega's ads
^' 7 ^^~ / , \ seem to be haunted
by the ideas of
ij I yesteryear,
rj Nintendo's are
1. « typical too, but Sony's
^ I stand out.

The Crash ads,
( vJ^tw.'- ? pn-n ^ featuring an obvious
"~T*r^|(^ |r R^k' "guy in a bandicoot
g FFgrt ■ su j t - p arat jj n g

Sony's ads,
by turn both
cool and
postmodern,
have taken
the lead from
Sega in 1996

outside Nintendo's Seattle HQ appeal to
many levels of gamers. Kids will like the
big bandicoot with attitude, older gamers
may appreciate the irony of the "guy in
the suit" just doing his job and chatting
with the guard as he is led away.

As for print and at point of purchase,
Sony's materials are more orthodox,
although we have to admit the ads for
Twisted Metal 2 are great.

So is Sony's marketing cool? Yes. As
awesome as Sega's holiday '95 stuff? Not
quite. But compared to the competition,
Sony looks to walk away with the
number one marketing spot this year,
safe in the knowledge that PlayStation is
still the"hippest" (if not the most
powerful) console on the block.

OPTIONAL EXTRAS

Make you own PlayStation
Yes, it is. And this could be

Until next month, when NG exclusively reveals
the details of Sony's "Let's Create" program,
very little Yarouze information is available

games? Is Sony serious?
the best peripheral yet seen

H et's Create (the name
W{ will change to Yarouze,
H which roughly translates
as "do it!" before the
system is released in the
U.S. early next year) is
Sony's best idea since PlayStation.

The system, which sells in Japan for
$ 1 ,200, includes a special black
PlayStation, a serial cable, and some
software. Poof! Instant development kit.
Write a game on your Mac or PC, play
it on your PlayStation. Put the code
online and anyone else with a Yarouze
set-up can play your games. Sony will
also sponsor an Internet-based club for
Yarouze members to exchange programs

and informa

One of th
is that the barrier to entry as a
developer is almost zero, meaning "some
kid in a garage," has as much (if not
more, since he or she is unfettered by
marketing committees, bottom lines, and
bureaucracy) chance of creating "the
next big thing," as Id.Activision, or
Microsoft. With Yarouze, Sony enables
budding developers everywhere to work
with the PlayStation. And since Sony has
the right of first refusal on anything
created with the kit, if some kid does do
the next big thing using Yarouze, it will be
exclusive to PlayStation.

Look for a world-exclusive in-depth
feature on Yarouze and how you can
make PlayStation games in next month's
Next Generation.

Next Generation Online, http://www.next-generation.com/

ng special

TECHNOLOGY

TECH SPECS

It's no N64, but it's no slouch either

he PlayStation technology is largely the result
of Ken Kutaragi's vision. While Sega was
working on a new 2D console (Saturn was
given a 3D processing boost only at the last
minute) and Atari and 3DO thought that flat-
shaded polygons woutd be more than anyone could ask for,
Kutaragi asked where technology would be in five years, then
built that system. He calls PlayStation a "graphics synthesizer"
and its 3D strength — 300,000 polygons per second — is no
accident

No one should
underestimate
PlayStation's influence on
the direction of game
design in this decade,
with PlayStation's early
demonstrations of real,
fast, textured, 3D worlds
truly heralding a new era.
The heart and soul of this
performance is its
dedicated GPU which the
PC, with no affordable
3D accelerator of
comparable performance,
has yet to match.

To bolster the system's raw polygon-pushing
power, PlayStation offers game developers a straightforward
development environment with hundreds of libraries (off-the-
shelf code for doing specific things like, say, drawing trees
quickly) for programmers to use. This has helped developers
get up to speed quickly (Ridge Racer was translated from
arcade to PlayStation in under six months), although it has led
to a distinctive "PlayStation look" in many lower-budget titles
that rely too heavily on the libraries. It has also led to
speculation that while much of Saturn's power has yet to be
harnessed, PlayStation is pretty much maxed out

While this argument may hold some water, second-
generation software such as WipeOut XL, Formula One, and
Destruction Derby 2 does much to blunt this damaging notion.
Many 1 996 PlayStation titles are clearly better than their 1 995
counterparts — and are certainly no less improved than any of
Sega's post-Wrtuo Fighter 2 and Sega Rally output for Saturn.

Indeed, software design is improving constantly. With
more developers incorporating superfast assembly language
into their code (as opposed to programming exclusively in C),
the real indicators of PlayStation's power — the finished
games — continue to take dramatic steps forward.

However, PlayStation is ultimately a 32-bit system, and has
to be considered — technologically speaking — weaker than
Nintendo 64. So now the challenge for Sony is to make sure
that PlayStation developers continue to build on prior
success, and maximize its two year headstart over Nintendo
64 up the 3D development curve.

The tale of the tape is revealed

Analog Joystick
Controller
Memory Card
Unk Cable
Mouse with Pad
RFU Adapter
S- Video Adapter
Multitap Unit

R3000A

32-brt RISC processor @ 33.8688M
Operating performance • 30 MIPS
Instruction Cache - 4 KB

Data Transfer Rate (DMA TO RAM):
ISOKB/sec. (Normal)
300 KB/sec. (Double speed)
Maximum Capacity - 660 Megabytes
Features:

Audio CD play
XA Interactive Audio

256x480
320x480
384x480
512x480
640x480

32.768
16,777.2(6

re performed to 24 -bit
e mapping color mode:

Sprite display capability: Ixl pixels
256x256 pixels

BIT DEPTH

Udl Jfcbil Utfel!

40K 70K 1 1 OK

16x16 I60K 260K 640K

e ■ 80 MIPS
CPU bus

Expandable with multitap
Backup RAM
Two removable cards
128 KB Flash Memory
OS support for File Save. Retrl
Remove
Serial Port I/O
Link Cable Connectivity

Sound RAM; 512 Kilo!
CD ROM buffer: 32 Ktl

44.IK.Hi sample rate
PCM audio source
Digital effects Include:

Envelope

Looping

Digital Reverb

Number of sprites on a lii
Number of sprite images

Scaling up/dowi

Warping

Transparency

Fading

Priority

Vertical line scr

Next Generation Online,

i, http://www.next-generalion.com/

The PlayStation's motherboard has been only subtly updated since its launch, with component changes in the power
supply being the most "exciting" tweaks. Here's a run down on the chips under PlayStation's hood:

1 CPU (a 33 MHz R3000 running at 30MIPS) containing the 66MIPS Geometry Transfer Engine (GTE); the
DMA controller, and Sony's 80MIPS proprietary MDEC video decompression hardware. MDEC gives full-screen
high-quality video playback and can also decompress graphics into RAM

2 Operating System ROM, initiating the boot-up sequences on switching-on (this is where the start-up sound
and PlayStation logo is stored)

3 GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) handling everything that's drawn onscreen

4 2MB DRAM (main RAM)

5 1MB VRAM (video RAM)

6 16-bit sound processing unit delivering 24 channels of ADPCM @ 44.1 KHz

7 512KB sound RAM

8 CD controller, containing a CD-ROM-XA converter (enabling up to eight simultaneous streams of mixed audio
and CD data) and buffer RAM

9 Digital Signal Processor (DSP) for CD drive. This chip has been upgraded slightly since the launch of the unit

10 16-bit digital audio converter 1

11 Video decoder and encoder. NTSC (U.S.) or PAL (Europe) signal decoder, sending signal to TV

Next Generation OrriJiw, http://www.next-gener3tion.com/

GAMES

■

t PlayStation games

ood games for PlayStation, there

A are worryingly few "classics." It seems that Sony has all its bases
covered, but with the possible exceptions of Wipeout and maybe
Tekken 2, it has yet to find its Sonic the Hedgehog or Mario.
With its developer-friendly environment (it's relatively
straightforward to make PlayStation games) and dominant market
position, PlayStation is the first priority of most developers, and the only choice for
those with limited resources. Sounds good, right? Not necessarily. The system that
attracts developers because "it's easier," is also going to tend to attract not only
developers of the second and third tier, but also publishers who are interested in simply
rushing out as many cookie-cutter games as possible.

Of course, not all PlayStation developers are second-string or merely after a fast
buck. But it does mean that when Sony brags of "over 140" titles in PlayStations library,
it's good to remember that it's quality, not quantity, that ultimately counts (at least, once
all game genres are well represented — take note Nintendo).

Also, since PlayStation is currently the dominant platform, any third-party developer
with the money to publish on just one platform will pick PlayStation. Fine, but there are
far more bad games made than there are great games, and unfortunately PlayStation
gets them all (Sega, on the other hand, often gets only the best of these games
converted for play on Saturn).

There is another troubling factor. Sony Computer Entertainment
America has a somewhat suspect policy of approving (all PlayStation release have to be
rubber-stamped by Sony officials) only games that showcase Sony's 3D capabilities.
While this worked well at launch to show off PlayStation's graphic capabilities and
differentiate itself from Saturn, this strategy ain't gonna work against N64.
Compounding this problem is an increasing dissatisfaction with 3D games (as articulated
by Eugene Jarvis in NG 21). Perhaps Sony would be smart to reexamine its position.

All that said, PlayStation will have the broadest library of quality software this holiday
season, and probably throughout 1997. No matter what a user's taste, he or she will
find something to like on PlayStation. Thus for fans of lesser genres like, say, wrestling
games. N64 is simply not an option (and this is why Sony and Sega are promoting their
"1 00+" titles as hard as they can). Also, with a packed stable of software in the
standard genres, Sony can afford to devote promotional effort to more esoteric titles,
^ -,,..^=5. ^tmnjjjm^j like ArtDink's Tail of the Sun or

PaRappa the Rapper.
KPlfJBB ,r \SB Finally, despite N64's 64-bit

3^58| graphic power, PlayStation's

5^J^&^ ' ' " " Some second-generation titles

H| ^SK^^^^^^^fi are verv impressive (WipeOut XL

W' wt'M' ' ' '"" looks almost ■ -■ almost ■ ns

^? ||f good as WavcRace 64), the sports

j£j ||3^5jjpsfff!f!!il I|I market that drove the success of

' • ^V^SmMii^fMM^0: Genesis is now owned by

PlayStation, and there are some

j^SS^til' ■ as well on competing platforms.

? "*|K^JHr NFL GamcDay 2. Tekken 2. jumping

»-sa sequels) are great, great games

Namco's support was key in PlayStation's early days. — anc j on | v ava ilable on

A nearly perfect version of Ridge Racer was completed _. _ _ , ... ...

by the company in only six months PlayStation. But how qu.ckly will

I N64's library catch up?

Namco's support was key in PlayStation's early days.
A nearly perfect version of Ridge Racer was completed
by the company in only six months

Namco's answer to Virtua Fighter 2 is
better on PlayStation than in arcades,
thanks to additional modes (first-person
and training). The debate about Tekken 2
vs. VF2 still rages at NG's office, but all
acknowledge Ws dominance on PS-X

NFL

GameDay '97

Developer: SCEA
Released: Out Now

EXHIBITION _ * £

--KNEW CU$T.Wf$&iE T f
* . MEMORY CAffo'' w-^ i

Last year, with EA's Madden out of the
picture, Sony had a perfect opportunity to
steal the videogame football title. It did
just this, with a surprisingly impressive
game that brought football up to 32-bit
speed. The '97 update looks even better

Jumping
Flash! 2

Publisher: SCEA
Developer: SCEI
Released: Out Now

Before Mario, the Jumping Flash! series
was the sterling example of how to do a
platform game in 3D — and it's still the
best example on PlayStation. Innovative
gameplay, quirky graphics and music added
up to a critical (if not commercial) hit

Next Generation Online, hUp;//www.next-generatlon.com/

ng special

a
e>

m
z
m

o
z

CONCLUSION

PlayStation: Worthy champion or success by default?

p until the arrival of Nintendo 64 in
late September of this year,
PlayStation's debut on September 9,
1 995 was the most successful
videogame launch in U.S. history (Sony
shifted 100,000 PlayStations in one
weekend; 300,000 Nintendo 64s were sold over four
days). Currently, there are 1.7 million PlayStations in
the U.S. and over 6 million worldwide. Even Nintendo
acknowledges that it will be impossible for N64 to
catch up before this time next year. So on a global
basis, PlayStation will be leading the pack for the foreseeable future.

So is PlayStation a success story by default? Certainly, Sega is offering less
competition by the day, and up until very recently Sony's ascension to the top of the
heap was blissfully Nintendo-free. Last year, we suggested that PlayStation's first two
years of empire building were like a game of SimGty with "disasters" turned off —
the analogy still fits, but now "disasters" are very much turned on. It's only going to
get tougher for Sony from this point on.

But this picture doesn't give Sony the credit it deserves. PlayStation is
a fine videogame console and offers great value for money at $ 1 99 (even more if it
drops to $149 as many pundits predict). And there's no real reason why PlayStation
can't continue to thrive even as Nintendo 64 gets up to speed. Positioned as a low-
budget alternative to Nintendo 64, if Sony realizes the potential for cheaper software
(born of using CDs instead of cartridges as its software medium) and continues to
provide a breadth of games beyond that of Nintendo, there's no reason why it should
ever surrender its lead. Indeed, with Sony courting the older gamer and Nintendo
sticking to its core child audience, the market could be neatly divided in half.

In conclusion, if the magic of Super Mario 64 is lost on you, you enjoy the
flexibility and choice that a wide range of software offers, and you're not prepared to
wait the 1 2 months it will take for a comparable Nintendo 64 line-up, then
PlayStation should be your number one pick this holiday season.

PlayStation

Demonstrable
hardware power
★★★'a

Current software
library

Future software
prognosis
★★★'a

Marketing muscle
★★★★

Overall future
prognosis
★★★★

Final score
****

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.nt

OK, OK, it looks a lot like Doom, but
Disruptor is unique (and exclusive) to
PlayStation, and has some of the finest
level design and puzzles we've seen in a
Doom clone. Also, the addition of
psionics to the game is a nice touch

ng special

Format: Sega Saturn

Launched: November 22, 1994

U.S. Release Date: May 11, 1995

Origin:

U.S. sales: 900,000

Worldwide sales: 4.1 million

U.S. titles: 125 approx
Worldwide titles: 240 approx

U.S. retail Price: $199

Two years ago, Sega's 16-bit Genesis was on top of the
videogame world. Now, with slow Saturn sales, a shortage
of killer games, Sonic the Hedgehog on the injury list, and
Sony and Nintendo gathering strength, Sega's looking
third place dead in the face. Can it regain its lead? Can
three systems survive? Will third be good enough?

Next Generation Online, http://www.next-generatlon.com/

Next Generation OnUne, hup ://www. next-generation.com/

MARKETING MUSCLE

Can the kings of videogame TV ads ("Sega!") pull
Saturn back from the brink of failure?

Total marketing budget,
Oct-Dec: $60 million

ver since it picked
Goodby, Berlin &
Silverstein as its ad
agency in 1992, Sega has
been known for its
— cutting-edge ads. In
fact, nearly every videogame ad campaign
since Genesis has stolen from Sega's
shock-style campaigns to a greater or
lesser extent. The patented "Sega!" yell
and "Welcome to the next level" helped
sell a generation of gamers on the
Genesis, and Sega's strategy of directly
comparing itself to the dowdy Nintendo
was a radical and successful departure in
strategy for a Japanese company.

But any ad or marketing
campaign gets tired fast,
so Sega adopted a
different strategy for
the launch of Saturn.
First were the flat-out
weird "Theater of the
Eye" spots with an "It's
out there" message,
then came the
astounding "A Little
Too Real" campaign.
The TV spots featured
live action intros, followed
by quick, jump cuts of
gameplay. For instance, for
Sega Rally, the spot showed
two "extreme"
mountaineers climbing a
mountain, when suddenly, a
car cut from Sega Rally flew
off the top and over their
heads, before plunging into
the abyss. The spot for
Virtua Cop featured a gritty
atmospheric black and
white shot of two cops
heading towards certain
death in a warehouse
ambush. Sega's then marketing director,
Tim Dunley, described the shots as
"more NYPD Blue than MTV-
Hands down, the campaign was the
best yet seen for a videogame system.

And while it helped Sega to an
acceptable holiday season last year, it
didn't do enough to overcome the
PlayStation's lead. That may be why, this
holiday season, Sega will be bringing back
the Sega Scream, and a
new "in-your-face"
shock campaign.
Snore.

The trouble is that
while Sega pioneered
this style, it is now
extremely tired, and
the new spots just
seem very "me too."
Especially when they
are trying to promote
games that simply do not
have that style in their
gameplay. MTV was
perfect for spunky Sonic,
but not for mild-
mannered Nights. It may
be that Sega's new
agency, Ingalls-Moranville
will take some time to
get up to speed, it may
be that Sega is afraid of
taking risks and falling
further behind Sony, it
may be that the top level
of Sega's marketing
department was purged
after E3, or it may just be bad luck — but
what we've seen of Sega's marketing
campaign this holiday season is simply not
the impressive, innovative stuff we have
come to expect from Sega.

ng special

OPTIONAL
EXTRAS

The NetLink itself is a diminutive, well
designed piece of hardware, not like
the ungainly Sega CD or 32X

(though Sega has an
exceptionally poor
£ track record with

hardware add-ons,
^■l^^k^H this holiday season it's

" ready to try it again.

This time, though, its product looks
more impressive than in years past.

NetLink is a 28.8k baud modem
for Saturn that attaches through the
cartridge port, comes with browser
software on a CD, and lets you surf
the web via your TV The software is
impressive, and at under $200.
NetLink and Saturn combined truly
make a network "PC" for under $500.

Although NetLink will enable
network gameplay and connection to
online services (X-Band Saturn is up in
Japan and planned for the U.S.), so far
no games support it. So for now,
NetLink simply enables users to
browse the web on a TV. Quite how
much this constitutes the elusive "killer
app" remains to be seen, but one thing
is clear: With the release of NetLink,
Sega has walked where, for the longest
time, computer industry visionaries
have only talked.

So will gamers (or anyone else)
bite? It's unknown, but Sega deserves
credit for trying. Hopefully, NetLink
isn't merely the next add-on in its
increasingly full closet of shame.

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.next-generation.com/

TECH SPECS

ng special

TECHNOLOGY

Saturn: hidden depth or in over its head? Greater than the sum of its (many) parts?

he Saturn was designed from the start to be
economical, so the designers at Sega made an
early decision to use only off the shelf parts and
eschew any custom chips — this immediately
compromises the technology. To get an
acceptable level of 3D power, a dual processor
system was introduced late in Saturn's development However,
because the dual processors both need to access the same
memory cache, it is difficult — if not impossible — to get the
processors running in true parallel, especially when using a high-
level language like C (programming in assembly language is the
only way to get truly fast results). "It's a real coder's machine,"
said Andy Beveridge, designer of the PSY-Q development system
for Saturn at the time of its launch,"but it's going to take some
time before we see what it can really do."

Ultimately, it's obvious that Saturn was

designed at the apex of the 2D side-scrolting/fighting game
heyday and did not anticipate the brave new world of the third
dimension. Trying to compete with PlayStation's 3D power,
Saturn somewhat resembles your dad trying to dance to techno.

This, coupled with the fact that there is almost no operating
system for the Saturn — giving programmers direct access to
almost 1 00% of the hardware — makes developing for the
Saturn extremely troublesome (as illustrated by the first
generation of software). Shortly after launch, AM2 headYu
Suzuki remarked,"! think only one in 100 programmers are good
enough to get [the same speed AM2 has] out of the Saturn."

These programming headaches, Saturn's lack of PlayStation's
sophisticated hardware graphics features (such as transparency),
and the lackluster quality of the first Saturn software made
consumers perceive the
system as inferior to
Sony's PlayStation.

However, two things
have changed. First, Sega
of japan released several
newAM2 developed
graphics libraries, and two,
developers are now more
used to the machine's
complex architecture.
Titles like Nights and Power
Play show that while the
Saturn may not be as
glitzy as the PlayStation, it
is no 32X

Saturn technology may
lack both the immediate
brute force and custom
features of N64 or
PlayStation, but it is
capable of more than
we've seen. The question
is, will we ever see it?

Analog mission Joystick

Arcade racer analog stoering controller

Analog/digital twftehable controller

Analog loypad

Memory backup cart

Link cable (Japan)

Mouse whhpftd

Keyboard

NetUnk modem

RFU adapter

S- Video adapter

Mutdtap unit

2 Hitachi 32-otl RISC SH2t @ 28 MHz
I Htochl 32-btt SHI

Data transfer rate:

150 K£/sec (Normal)
300 KB/sec (Double speed)

Maximum Capacity - 660 Megabytes

Audio CD w/reactfve display
CD+G Compatible
CD* EG Compatible
CD SJngJc Compatible
Photo CD
Video CD

polygon*

VDP? processor harvita:
backgrounds

5 slmunameous pbnes (with
rotation planes)

32JX30 colon from 24-btt palette

640X224
704x480

Mam RAM- 2 Megabytes
Video RAH 1.54 Megabyte
Sound RAM: 540 Kilobytes
CD ROM buffer: 5 12 Kilobytes

3 Mr

Yu Suzuki's AM2 developed
libraries for Saturn have shown
more of the hardware's potential

l6-bk\amah»68£C
32w4om
FM synthesis
2 CPU Interfaces
44.1 KHz sampling frequency
1 6 channel digital mbcer

p DSP @ 22.6MHz

Supplied byVDP I:
Texture mapping
GouraixJ Shading
5I2K cache fertt
200,000 texture-mapped p
500.000 flat shaded polys/sec

Supplied byVDP I:

Dual 256K frame buffers for
rotation and scaling
Virtually unlimited number of
sprites on a line
Virtually unlimited number of
sprite Images

Virtually unlimited number of

Supplied byVDP I:
Rotation
Scaling up/down
Vvarping
Vertical and horizontal line scroll

Supplied byVDPI:
Background engine
Up to five simultaneous scrolling
backgrounds

Up to two simultaneous rotating
ptayfields

True 24-bit backgrounds
704x400 maximum resolution

Saturn's specs are not
unimpressive. But will it be
to handle VF3? Don't count on H

Next Generation OnUne, fittp://www.next-generatfon.com/

The Saturn hardware has undergone streamlining revisions,
useful both in showing the original design of the system, an
functionality of many chips have since been combined into I

1) 2 Hitachi 25 M1P SH2s running at 28 MHz

2) 16 Mbit DRAM for SH2s

3) 12 Mbit DRAM for the VRAM and frame buffer

4) 512 K sound DRAM for the 68EC00

5) 32 K SRAM for battery back-up

6) 512 K Initial Program Loading ROM — for the Saturn's
power-up sequence

7) VDP1 32-bit video display processor, sprite processor
and texture-mapping engine with dual 256 K frame
buffers

8) VDP2 32-bit video display processor with five
simultaneous scrolling backgrounds and two
simultaneous rotation fields

9) Processor Controller

10| Saturn Custom Sound Processor (SCSP). Contains

but this photo shows the old system schematic, which is
d in showing the various components in more detail, as the
arger integrated chips:

Yamaha FH1 DSP

11) 22.6 MHz MC68EC00 sound processor

12) System control unit running at 14MHz

13) 4-bit system manager and peripheral control

14) Crystal oscillator

15) Integrated circuit clock controller

16) Digital-to-analog converter

17) RGB encoder

18) Cartridge slot

19) Connector for joypad

20) Connector for CD interface

21) SHI processor for CD drive

22) MPEG interface

23) CD drive board interface

24) 100-pin CD-drive board connector

Next Generation OnUne, fitlp:// www, next-general ion .com/

for im me dial
occupancy.

■

This space
Mailable

The darkness of ahdent Egypt and evil alien
forces, possessing horrifying pow ers, have taken
possession ol the ancient citv ol Karnak. And
these landlords arc exacting extrenielv high rents.
I ike .in arm and .1 leg. . .or worse.

Airdropped into first person landscapes, von
must s\\ im, crawl and otherwise i nn like hell
through 20-plus levels ol gameplav. Real time,
fully 3 :D rendered environments allow vou
complete 360° freedom of gameplav. With just a
machete to benin wit h, search lor 7 other

weapons like hand grenades, a flame thrower,
an MOD machine gun and a magical cobra staff.
Dynamic lighting allow s for stunning visual
effects. Cross bridges, craw l through tunnels and
swim through underwater grottos. Your only
salvation is the guiding Spirit of the Great
Pharaoh Ramses. 1 les the only one in this god-
forsaken neighborhood who w ants to help you
get a forwarding address.

So w elcome to the nightmare of Ramses'
tomb. And enjoy your stay. It may last forever.

iff wio^-i

http://'\v\vw.pIiU'matcstc)vs.ct)m

GAMES

r: Sega
v: Sega AM2
leased: Out Now

quality of software greatly improved throughout 1995. The
culmination of these efforts was Virtua Fighter 2 and Sega Rally
two games that temporarily silenced most critics of the system.
But then development progress stopped, and other than Fighting
Vipers and Yuji Naka's Nights, there's precious little for Saturn fans to brag about in
1996. Sonic Extreme was abandoned (replaced by a version of the Genesis game).
Hearts of Darkness has been delayed, Daytona Remix won't arrive until 1997, and
even if Command & Conquer does appear in 1 996, it won't be NetLink compatible.

Saturn's problem iS a lack of third-party support. Because
PlayStation is easier to develop for, and has a larger installed base, most companies
with limited resources will choose to develop for PlayStation first, and (if they have
a smaller development budget) sometimes exclusively. Admittedly, this means that
PlayStation owners are used as guinea pigs for games that may or may not appear

on the Saturn, but at
least they get the games
first — and the originals
are usually the best (a
software developer's "A"
team won't work on
mere ports).

Of course, Saturn
does have one major
weapon that PlayStation
and N64 don't have —
full exclusive rights to
Sega's awesome arcade
output. This alone is
responsible for Saturn's
success so far, but the
supply of killer arcade
games for conversion is
slowing. It's naive to
think that Virtua Fighter
3 on Saturn will in any
Yuji Naka's Sonic Team hit it big with Alights, and, although it is vvay resemble its arcade
outselling Mario week-on-week in Japan and has sold well in , . _ c

America, it cannot carry Saturn all by itself P arent - and the rest of

| Sega's arcade line-up

lacks the dynamite or
innovation that made Sega Rally and Virtua Cop such surprise hits.

Sony's policy of nixing any software submitted for approval that doesn't
showcase PlayStation's 3D capabilities has handed Saturn the 2D market, free of
charge. A growing library of impressive and exclusive 2D games, like LucasArts's
Here's Adventures, Capcom's Major Damage, or Working Design's Lunar have all
cemented Saturn's standing as the niche platform of choice for 2D game fans.

If Saturn didn't exclusively have Sega's arcade line-up, then it's software library
would be sorely lacking. But, it does have these games, it has all the genre bases
(sports, adventure, platform, and so on) covered with strong titles, and it does 2D
better than any other system. But, despite all of this, it can't compete with
Nintendo 64's bells and whistles; 2D games aren't as popular as 3D games, and the
reservoir of arcade hits appears to be drying up.

1997 will be exceedingly tough for Saturn from a software point of view.

AM2's nearly flawless arcade translation
offered the first proof that Saturn was as
powerful as Sega insisted, and also led
Sega's holiday charge in 1995. A year later,
the still impressive Virtua Fighter 2 has yet
to be surpassed on Saturn

Publisher: Sega
Dev: "Sonic Team"

Released: Out Now

From Yuji Naka's Sonic Team, Nights (and
its analog joystick) offers a 2D game in a
3D world. Sure, it may not have the
immediate appeal of 1991s Sonic the
Hedgehog, but it's Sega's main weapon in
'96, and, to many, Saturn's finest hour

Sega Rally

Publisher: Sega

After the disappointing Daytona USA,
Sega Rally was a welcome relief. With
awesome gameplay (compatible with
Sega's analog joystick) there is still little
to compete with this example of Sega's
arcade racing brilliance

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.nefl-genetation.com/

z
m

0
m
z
m

0
z

ng special

GAMES

r: Sega
Developer: Sega
Released: Out Now

It's out on PlayStation, too, but thanks to
Saturn's superiority at 2D, SSFA2 is way
more fun on Saturn (that may have to do
with the Saturn's more fighting game
friendly pad design as well). It's a head to
head comparison that Saturn wins easily

This beautiful rail shooter series
demonstrates the power of the Saturn and
showed, after the debacle of 32X, that Sega
developers could still do a good non-arcade
game if they put their minds to it. Panzer
Dragoon is a highpoint in Saturn's library

Fantastic graphics and an intriguing plot,
but endless delays make waiting for this
Gallic-developed title (which is set to
appear on Saturn first) something of an
exercise in existential torture. Still it
should be great if it ever actually ships

Next Generation OnLlne, htlpy/www.next-generatlon.com/

GAMES

Daytona USA Publisher: Sega
Championship Dev: Sega AM2

Released: Dec '96

Don't call it Daytona Remix, but this new
home version of Sega's racer adds cars,
tracks, and an enhanced graphics engine
for its second appearance. The exciting
track editing mode, however, was
removed to ensure an on-time ship date

Publisher: Sega
Dev: Sega AM3
Released: Out Now

It's fighting, it's robots, it isn't going to
appeal to everyone. Imagine CyberSled
meets BntttcZonc with giant 'mechs and
you have Virtual On. Without Assault-
style controls, though, the home port
may pale next to the arcade original

VirtU a Publisher: Sega

Fighter 3 Dev: Sega AM2

Released: Dec'97

It all comes down to this. If Sega can't
find a way to shoe-horn the game,
somehow, onto Saturn, the system is
finished. If they can do it (if there was
ever a time for 64X, this is it), things
may look up for Sega in 1997 and beyond

ng special

CONCLUSION

Last chance for Sega? Or stil! early days for Saturn?

j y simultaneously trying to maintain
support for Genesis and 32X, Sega
spread itself too thinly at the launch of
Saturn. And although it has largely
managed to solve most of these early
problems, it has yet to offer an
extremely compelling reason, beyond the arcade
exclusives, to buy Saturn. Currendy Sega's 32-bit system
maintains a solid second place in the world's next-
generation race, but in all probability this will soon
become third as Nintendo 64 catches up and overtakes.

lt*S important tO remember that Sega doesn't necessarily need the home
hardware business for its long term survival. It has been an independent game
developer before, and it can be so again. Indeed, many believe that Sega could make
more money publishing its games on all platforms than it can by throwing good money
after bad backing Saturn. Already, Sega is publishing PC games, and doors have been left
open for PlayStation development in the future. The bottom line: Even if the Saturn ship
isn't necessarily sinking just yet, Sega has all its lifeboats in place and ready to go.

It is doubtful that the Saturn Is going to rocket past the PlayStation or N64 without
some kind of divine intervention. Certainly, NetLink fails to excite — especially given
Sega's history with peripherals — and despite Nights and fighting Vipers, Saturn's
upcoming software doesn't inspire much confidence either. It is NG's belief that Sega
internally acknowledges that Saturn is beaten in the U.S., and were it not for its
continued success in Japan (and Sega's considerable pride) it would quit immediately.

Except, of course, that Sega may be able to eke out a profitable Saturn business in
third place. By promoting its large library and introducing budget releases inbetween
AM2 arcade conversions, Saturn could maintain a holding pattern for years to come. In
conclusion, NG expects Saturn to remain a viable platform through 1 997, but after that,
it's anyone's guess. So unless you have to have Sega's arcade line-up, or are a sucker for
Nights (and we wouldn't blame you if you are), Saturn has to be considered a secondary
purchase this holiday season.

Sega Saturn

Demonstrable
hardware power

Current software
library
★★★

Marketing muscle
★★★

Overall future
prognosis
irk* a

Final score

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.next-generation.com/

ng special

Format: Nintendo 64

Launched: June 23, 1996

U.S. Release Date: September 29, 1996
Origin: Japan

U.S. sales: 600,000

Worldwide sales: 2 million
U.S. titles: 4 approx
Worldwide titles: 6 approx
U.S. retail Price: $199

Over a year late. Only a handful of games. Old fashioned
cartridges. "Limited" supplies. The disastrous Virtual
Boy fresh in gamers' minds. Nintendo still licking its
wounds from a bloody 16-bit battle with Sega. And yet
Nintendo 64 is still many people's favorite to win the
next generation race. Why?

Next Generation Online, http://www.neit-generatlon.com/

Next Generation OrtUne, http://wwiN.nefl-genefaiion.com/

i (4

ng special

OPTIONAL EXTRAS

on make Nintendo 64 the console it should
have been from the outset?

o all its detractors who

point to the lack of a CD
n ROM drive, Nintendo
m simply responds with its
^^^H 64DD(aka "Bulky Drive").
Due for launch in Japan this time next
year, this expensive {$ 1 00 to $ 1 50)
Nintendo 64 add-on will add to the base
unit a 64MB disk drive, of which 20MB
will be writable (it can save as well as
load). Considering that most game saves
require less than I MB of memory, it is
tempting to speculate as to what other
applications Nintendo has up its sleeve

helves?

with this new, writeable medium.

Online gaming is NG's guess (see
page 19), but game updates on disk (new
levels and characters), downloading
software from stores, and complex
adventure games also sound cool to us.

No one's ever successfully

managed to sell a peripheral that costs
almost as much as the console itself. But
then, if it costs just $ 1 00 (or even $ 1 50)
with Zelda packed in, hell — why not?
After all, a lot of us paid $270 just to play
Super Mario 64...

MARKETING MUSCLE

never known for impressive ads,
i have/ with Nintendo 64, ditched tf
oud" line. Thank God

Nintendo 7 never known for
appears to have/ with Ninte
"Play it Loud" line. Thank

Total marketing budget,
Oct-Dec:$54 million

^■■^■i^H intendo has never been

I a marketing

I ^ i powerhouse. Its

& success in the 8-bit

^ft|^M|^H days was largely due to

being the only player
with games of any quality whatsoever
(its heavy-handed distribution practices
didn't hurt either). Practically the only
innovative marketing move that
Nintendo ever made was the creation of
an in-house magazine, Nintendo Power,
which shamelessly plugs the latest
Nintendo games to over 500,000
monthly readers.

But not even Nintendo Power could
stave off Sega's 16-bit marketing blast,
which managed to paint the Super NES
as a children's toy.

After a lengthy period of inaction,
Nintendo played catch-up with its
derivative "Play it Loud" campaign, a
shoddy attempt to mimic the Sega-style
shock campaigns. But it was tough to
reconcile a television ad that has a giant

fat man exploding with a game

like Yoshi's Island, and

Nintendo's sales triumphs in

the late 1 6-bit era surely had

less to do with stunning ads

than Sega's dropping of the ball 1 ^0

with Sega CD and 32X,and the

graphical leap of DKC.

For N64, though,

Nintendo seems to have given

up its pure, two-steps-behind-

Sega emulation (which is

probably smart, or else we'd be **

seeing Nintendo Theater of the /

Eye ads around now, or ^Efl

Princess Toadstool with no hair

and rings around her head).

Instead, it has adopted a moderately

catchy, punny slogan — "Change the

System" — with which to fight.

TV ads also abandon schlocky shock-
tactics for some light-hearted humor
and lots of footage of Mono. This back-
to-basics kind of campaign reflects what
we feel is the real Nintendo, and is a
breath of fresh air compared to Sega's
creative (we're not going to say

Nintendo's

current

instore

promotional

items are

downright

refreshing,

compared to

mediocre

past efforts

misleading) "three 32-bit processors!"
campaign. But lets face it, Nintendo's
best marketing tool has never been its
ads, or its tie-ins, or even its massive
mailing list (the company sent out over
500.000 promotional videos for
Nintendo 64). It's Mario games that
Nintendo has always used to sell
hardware systems, and Nintendo 64
is no exception.

Next Generation OnUne, http;/ /www. next-gene rat ion, com/

ng special

TECHNOLOGY

TECH SPECS

Nintendo's 64-bit project becomes reality A look inside a little SGI

intendo went to Silicon Graphics, the company
with arguably the most powerful graphics
hardware on the planet, to create the bulk of
Nintendo 64's technology. Basically, N64 has all
the operative features of a Silicon Graphics
Reality Engine, with the caveat that it only works on aTV —
hence a maximum resolution of 640 x 480.

The final Nintendo 64 hardware is flat-out stunning. Not
only is it fast, but it has far more graphic manipulation and
processing features built into it than PlayStation and Saturn
put together. A quick comparison of Wave Race to, say, Jet
Moto for PlayStation makes this readily apparent.

All has not been smooth sailing, however, as the
massive delays of seemingly all N64 games demonstrates.
Unlike the PlayStation and post-VF Remix Saturn, the Nintendo
64 toolkits were practically non-existent until Paradigm and
Nintendo began to make them available within the last few
months. If the Saturn is difficult to program, then up until
very recently Nintendo 64 was impossible. A precious few
developers stuck it out and built their own tools, notably
Iguana (developers of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter for Acclaim).
However, Turok is the exception that proves the rule —
precious few other third-party products currently show any
promise at all. Despite what Shigeru Miyamoto may have
achieved with Super Mario 64, few developers outside of
Nintendo {and Paradigm, presumably) will be likely to get the
kind of results seen in Mario or Wave Race in the near term.

Another hitch dogging third-party game development is
that while the system offers unprecedented power (with the
exception of high-end arcade boards), most developers have
become used to the luxury of data storage on CDs.
Certainly, whether or not third parties can create games that
take full advantage of N64's power using only 8MB or so of
memory is an open question. Also unanswered is whether or
not Nintendo will ease the financial burden of having to
produce games on cartridges that cost over $30 to
manufacture (CDs cost less than $3).

Still, this is not strictly
Nintendo's problem.
Developers asked for
power, and Nintendo has
delivered, in spades. The
system beats the pie-in-
the-sky specs announced
two years ago — and not
even a PC could do Wave
Race justice, even at ten
times the price.

Cartridges aside, it's
hard at this stage to fault

Nintendo 64's technology. The power of an SGI graphic
But can anyone outside workstation in a "below $250"

Kt . . . , console? That's what Nintendo

Nintendo use it? lmM and la[goly ae|ivere(1

Digital/Analog Control Pad (in seven colors)
64DD Magnetic Media Drive
RFU Adapter
5 - Video Adapter

64-bit MIPS R4300 RISC CPU @ 93.75 MHz
64-bit registers, data path and buffer
125 MIPS for CPU

64-Bit RISC "Reality Immersion" Graphics co-p
Rendering Processor:

Textures, Anti-aliasing. Raste riling. Z-buffering

Audio and Video Processor:

100+ MFLOPS for Graphics Co-Processor

256 x 224 to 64C
32-Bit RGBA phv

x 480, 2 1 -Bit color output
color frame buffer

4 MB RAM. Internal data bus is 1 28-bie
"Rambus" DRAM subsystem enabling ti
3-bit "Rambus" bus @ 500 MHz maxim

Up to 16-bit stereo® 44.
ADPCM Compression algo
Up to 100 PCM channels

S62-S MB/second

Capable of calculating approximately 160.000 rectangular polygons/second v
hardware features enabled. Hardware support for:
Texture mapping
Detail texturing

TrHinear mip map interpolation

Perspective correction

Depth buffering

Shading

Z-buffering

Skewing

Scaling

Rotation

Anti-aliasing

Gouraud Shading

Alpha -channeling (256 levels max)

"Level of Detail" (LOD) Management

Scaling

Rotation

Anti-aliasing

Alpha Channeling (up to 256 levels)

Magnetic Media with read and write capability
3 3/4" feed similar to a Zip drive

Bundled with 2MB expansion RAM pack that fits the N64 console
To be manufactured by ALPS

I MBrsecdata transfer. ISO n

64MB disk storage. 44MB read-only, 20MB writable

Compression of N64 enables supposed real-time decompression of data on 64DD

Next Generation Online, http://www.next-generation.com/

In stark contrast to the Saturn, Nintendo 64's chip board is a hallmark of elegance. Even compared to PlayStation, the
Nintendo 64 looks simple. In fact, it has so few chips, a handheld version would be extremely easy to manufacture.

1 Reality Coprocessor. This SGI designed chip controls graphics, sound, etc. Running at 62.5 MHz (100+
MFLOPS}, it has onboard rendering processors to handle textures, anti-aliasing, z-buffering and graphic effects.
If you look at the chip with en electron microscope, you can see the names of the design team members

2 64-bit MIPS R4300 RISC CPU: Runs at 93.75 MHz (125 MIPS) with a true 64-bit data path and registers. This
is the heart of Nintendo 64, and controls the object and game logic

3 RAM Chips: 2MB RAM. Rambus DRAM subsystem allows theoretical transfers up to 563 MB/second

4 Peripheral Interface chip: filters and integrates messages from the peripherals into the heart of the board

5 Processing Resistors: These resistors are used for video, audio, and graphics processing. They assist in
balancing and mixing video signals (particularly for the digital to analog signals)

6 RAM bus port: slot reserved for future RAM expansion packs. Currently occupied by a null-terminator

7 Power Switch

8 Reset Switch

9 Cartridge Slot (contains a pass through to the bottom of the board for future expansion options, such as 64DD)

10 Ports for up to four game controllers

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.nen generatlon.com/

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Next Generation OnUne, http://w ww.next-genefalion.com/

ng special

GAMES

Publisher: Williams Wayne Gretsky Publisher: Williams Worn

veloper: Williams 3D Hockey Dev: Atari Games Project J2

leased: Nov '96 Released: Dec '96

Developer: Enix
Released: TEA

OK, it's not our favorite title, but for MK
fans, this three-in-one trilogy (despite the
loss of some animation frames) should
deliver the ultimate MK experience, with
tons of characters, fatalities, backgrounds
and, of course, buckets of blood

Nintendo has never been a sports
powerhouse, but this arcade style hockey
game (created by the designer of Asteroids)
is extremely fun to play. Plus, its got the NHL
license and fighting (too bad they had to take
out the finishing moves)

Imagine an artificial intelligence game in
which players interact with a little 2D
Japanese school-girl. That's this. Weird,
yes. Likely to hugely popular in Japan,
definitely. Likely to be released in the U.S.,
erm... But it does show the depth of N64

Killer Instinct
Gold

Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Rare
Released: Dec '96

Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Released: TBA

Developer: EA
Released: 1997

Perhaps the best thing about Kl is how it
makes us appreciate Mortal Kombat — but
it still sucks. Fans of outrageous combos,
gravity defying babes, and warping 2D
levels (that let kids on Usenet claim that
it's 3D), however, will no doubt love this

ShadOWS Of Publisher: Nintendo
the Empire Dev: LucasArts

Released: Dec '96

The Star Wars license guarantees a hit for
a game which tries to combine vehicle
piloting, Doom-style shooting, and Rebel
Assault-style flying. It looks good and
plays OK — but console owners still don't
have the Star Wars game we deserve

The expected 64DD pack-in, Zelda is a big
enough name that Nintendo may actually sell
a respectable number of the $150 add-ons.
Not much is known about the game, but
expect Link to follow Mario into 3D, and
maximize 64DD's writeable technology

Top Gear Rally Publisher: Kemco
Dev: Boss Games
Released: 1997

Kemco's reward for releasing Virtual Boy
titles was a Nintendo 64 license. It looks like
its using it well, recruiting Boss Games to
create an attempted Sega Rally killer that
looks set to be the first realistic racing
game on the system

Scheduled to debut in Japan (tied to a J-
League license) before its U.S. release,
expect FIFA to do for Nintendo 64 the
same thing that it did for 3D0 — showcase
the system's 3D capabilities. Hopefully it
will play a good game of soccer, too

Super Mario Publisher: Nintendo
Kart 64 Dev: Nintendo

Released: 1997

It was one of the best games on Super
NES and it's coming to N64. SMK64 will be
another title to make good use of the four
player options inherent in N64, and — like
Wave Race 64 — stress Nintendo's
dominance of the home arcade genre

Next Generation Online, http://www.next-generstion.com/

ng special

First Square, and now Hudson? What is it
with Japanese developers and 3D
fighting games? Still, the people who
brought us Bomberman look set to
provide Nintendo 64's answer to Tobal
No.l, Virtua Fighter 2, et al

Turok:

Dinosaur

Hunter

Publisher: Acclaim
Developer: Iguana
Released: Jan '97

Turok, a Doom-style shooter based on a
comic-book license features a machine-
gun toting Native American, dinosaurs
with laser weapons, and some great
level design. Although delayed until
January, Turok will help N64 considerably

Doom 64 Pub: Williams

Dev: Wllllams/ld
Released: 1997

CONCLUSION

It's a question of faith — are the games coming or not?

I intendo has managed to silence its critics with Nintendo 64's
hardware, but this will be for nothing if there aren't enough games
that exploit it. No one actually wants an electric drill, they want
holes in the wall — and no one wants a game system, they want to
play games. Nintendo 64 sales slowed to nothing in japan after launch
precisely because of its lack of software, and unsurprisingly the
release of Wave Race sparked a massive spike in sales.

The following ISSUeS still aren't clear: One, will third party game
publishers be able to make money making games on cartridges that cost $30 to
manufacture? Two, will any of the games released in the foreseeable future be up to
the standard of Mario and Wave Race 7 . Three, can Nintendo 64 survive without
significant third party development? And four, will gamers en masse accept a system
with such a slim library of albeit high-quality titles?

These questions should be answered in the marketplace this holiday season and
throughout 1 997. But Nintendo's also planning another gamble — with 64DD, can it
be the first console manufacturer to introduce an expensive accessory? The gaming
possibilities of an internet- linked network of N64's equipped with writable storage
devices is awe inspiring, and could bring to Nintendo success undreamed of during
the 1 6-bit era. If 64DD fails, however, it will only serve to dilute the marketplace and
diversify Nintendo's development resources. This ain't good. Just ask anyone at Sega.
Nintendo's commitment to the home game industry is unquestionable — it's its
only business. Unlike Sega or Sony, Mr
Yamauchi and Company have no option but to
stick this out for the long haul. Consequently,
Nintendo is here to stay, and that means that
Nintendo 64 has to succeed.

In conclusion, if you can put up with only a
handful of games and the unlikelihood of any
budget titles being released any time soon,
then Nintendo 64 should be your number
one choice this holiday season.

Nintendo 64

Demonstrable
hardware power

Current software
library
*★

Future software
prognosis

Marketing muscle

Overall future
prognosis
★ ★★★

Final score
★★★*

Doom 64 will (hopefully) be the last and
best version of the game that took the
PC world by storm. N64's anti-aliasing
will take care of those ugly bit-map
problems, and four player deathmatches
will rock — we can't wait

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.next-generatlon.com/

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ng special

Game Music

When it comes to interactive entertainment, the music industry is an antiquated beast.
However, attitudes are changing. And fast. Next Generation looks at how digital
technology is uniting the interests of both musicians and game designers

ideogames and
contemporary music
have now officially met,
shaken hands, and
declared their respect
for each other. This is
good news for gamers as, post-W/peout,
developers have finally realized that the
right music can be used to enrich the
gaming experience.

Three games currently providing
evidence for this standpoint are: one,
Wipeout 2097, with user-selectable in-game
music from the likes of Underworld, the
Chemical Brothers,The Prodigy, Fluke, and
FSOL; two, Photek Virgin's Broken Sword,
which features a specially written
soundtrack by Barrington Pheloung, the top
Autralian classical composer; and three,
Warp's £0, which will come with a shiny
new score by Michael Nyman. Developers,
then, are taking music seriously, and the
music industry is starting to take games at
least as seriously as films.

It's good news for music companies.
Evidence for this is provided by
Astralworks which expects to shift large
quantities of the forthcoming Wipeout 2097
compilation (which knocks Sony's efforts
with the original Wipeout into a cocked
hat) later on this year, thanks to a built-in
audience of serious gamers. And Suburban
Base, the tiny London-based jungle label is
preparing to release the fruits of a tie-up

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.next-generalion.com/

ng special

The first Wipeout album was adversely
affected by time pressures. Wipeout 2097 is
an altogether more credible affair — it will
even spawn an associated single release

with Sega that could propel it from
underground to overground. And it's good
news for the games companies, which stand
to achieve much-needed fashion credibility
among a post-teenage audience through
tie-ups with underground music culture, as
well as using music to tack extra selling
points onto their games. Good news all
round, then? Time for a closer look.

Wipeout 2097 IS an excellent

update to a great original. Attention to
detail has been the focus, rather than
thinking up a big new idea for the game.
Yet it does have one aspect that sets it
apart from all other games on the market
— it has a built-in library of adrenaline-
fuelled dance tracks, any of which can be
selected to produce the most appropriate
head-rush for a serious gaming session.

It's not as if these tracks are off-cuts
that have been gathering dust in record
company archives, either. There are two
exclusive tracks from Fluke, one from
Underworld (who seem to have become a
chart act thanks to the film, Trainspotting),
an exclusive track from ultra-hip intelligent

drum and bass/techno man Photek and two
tracks from Future Sound of London which
will be unavailable until their eagerly
awaited album appears. Also, the Chemical
Brothers' Loops of Fury, nowadays only
available on a pricey import and a
previously unavailable mix of their track,
Leave Home, courtesy of Darren Emerson
and his cohorts and an instrumental mix of
The Prodigy's familiar smash-hit, Firestarter
appear on the game. So depending on your
mood, you can opt to play Wipeout 2097
with musical backing ranging from the
Chemical Brothers' meaty beats and
general bang, crash, and wallop to Photek's
slowish, metallic drum and bass, via Fluke's
more laid-back catchiness. Psygnosis'sTim
Wright (aka Cold Storage) has written two
tracks for the game, and all the tracks can
be set to play in random order. Few games
can be tailored to suit your mood — it's
usually the other way round.

As is now customary, Wipeout 2097 will
be accompanied by a compilation album
(on the Astralworks label, in the U.S.) due
to hit the record stores a couple of weeks
before the game. Psygnosis has high hopes

for this — according to the company's
Glen 0'Connell,"Last time, the album was
a bit disappointing. This time, we think it
stands up in its own right"

As far as O'Connell is concerned, much
of the credit for this must go to Virgin,
Psygnosis's new musical partner. The
original Wipeout album was put together by
Sony Music and although Psygnosis's stint as
a tiny wing of the mighty Sony corporation
has brought it untold riches, its
collaboration with Sony Music was
probably not one of them. O'Connell says,
"I don't think Sony knew what they had —
they just took old tracks from their
archives. It was an experience we've
certainly learned from." To be fair to Sony
Music, the first Wipeout compilation was
adversely affected by time pressures. But
the Wipeout 2097 compilation album is an
altogether more credible affair. As proof of
this, it will even spawn an associated single
release: Fluke's rather excellent Atom Bomb.

Psygnosis U.K. will also back up Wipeout
209Ts launch with a club tour around
some of the U.K.'s most happening venues.
This will be a joint effort with Virgin Music
and Red Bull, the energy drink
manufacturer, in true 1990 co-promotion,
brand association-style. Die-hard U.K.
clubbers are well used to this sort of thing
by now, and, as long as they get a good
evening's entertainment, they can handle
being marketing guinea-pigs (look out for
Red Bull product placement in the game.

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.next-generalion.com/

ng special

( )

Revellers at London's Notting Hill Carnival
were surprised to see a Sega float pumping
out hardstep jungle dance music

too). It sounds as though the club tour
should provide good entertainment.
According to 0'Connell,"lt will take place
in underground clubs in eight U.K. cities.
We'll probably take one room and do a
whole Wipeout 2097 experience, getting
some of the bands on the album to DJ and
even play live."

Following Sonys

appropriation of club culture for the
PlayStation, Sega has inked a tie-up with
Suburban Base, an underground dance
music label. An intriguing union, as
Suburban Base is about as underground as
you can get — it has been purveying
energetic jungle to the cognoscenti for
years without attracting much overt
attention — and Sega is a massive global
brand. Sega is, therefore, pursuing
credibility with a young audience through
association with an underground record
company, just as Sony's PlayStation
marketing has started to concentrate on
cracking the mainstream. This doesn't
necessarily mean Sega is still a jump behind
Sony, however.

The first fruits of the Sega/Suburban
Base tie-up are so low-key they're almost
imperceptible: a white label 1 2-inch,
circulated to DJs, branded with graphics
from its Baku Baku Saturn game. The
approach taken for this is similar to that
taken by JVC with Tekken: Suburban Base
has overseen an exercise involving getting
artists to take noises from the soundtrack
to Baku Baku Animal and remodel them
into dance tracks. The EP has a selection
of techno and
drum and bass
mixes performed

by Suburban Base artists The Dream Team
andTimebase.

Revellers at London's Notting Hill
Carnival (including Next Generation)
were surprised to

find a Sega float,
pumping out
hardstep jungle —
again, this was the
work of Suburban
Base. But the
highest-profile result
of this unlikely union
will be a compilation
album called Club
Saturn, due for
release later this year.
This promises to resemble the Wipeout
2097 compilation in reverse. Sega's in-
house musician, Richard Jacques, explains:
"Club Saturn will feature all the top Saturn
games between now and Christmas. Like
the Baku Baku EP, we'll take sound effects
from the games and get people to rewrite
them into tracks." Suburban Base's Danny
Donnelly elaborates: "The Club Saturn
tracks will span a number of different
styles. There'll be jungle tracks from DJ
Hype, Pascal.The Dream Team, Remarc,
and Swift, house tracks from Dudarella,
who have just signed to MCA, Marshall
Jefferson and Acorn Arts, and trip-hop
tracks from D'Cruze and the Balouga
Boys, who are signed to Stress." Whether
this eclectic mix will hang together as a
whole is anyone's guess, but its very
strangeness, plus the presence of the
notoriously elusive and perverse house
legend Marshall Jefferson, should guarantee
attention, if only to enable an assessment
of whether he has lost his touch or not

Sega's Suburban Base float for London's
Notting Hill Carnival (left). Gremlin's
Hardwar (above) features Warp's music

Suburban Base's Donnelly says: "There'll
probably be a playable demo of some
Saturn games in with the album — we
want to link the music and the game
aspects. Games are a big thing with the
jungle scene and the whole dance scene —
people are always coming back from raves
and putting games on. And it's a good
promotion for us to be linked with a
household name like Sega."

Gremlin has always had more
interest in music than most games
companies, as illustrated by the PWEI

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ng special

O f

soundtrack to its oddly addiaive Loaded.
And now, it has followed in the path of
Psygnosis and announced a tie-up with
underground techno label Warp and the
Designers Republic for Hardwar, a futuristic
arcade flight sim, shooter, and strategy game
due for release later this year.

This owes more to geography than
anything else, as Gremlin's Mark Mattocks
explains: "The angle is that this is a
collaboration between Sheffield, U.K.
companies that are at the top of their
industries. We've wanted to work with
Warp for a long time, so we looked at two
or three projects and picked Hardwar. ,^
We're trying to keep the music integrated
with the game. We went to Designers
Republic not because it's 'the thing to do'
but because we've wanted to work with
them for years."

Mattocks also mentions Warp artists
such as Autechre, LFO, and Black Dog in
connection with the game. As these are all
no-compromise techno merchants, it could
produce a very odd gaming experience
indeed. All will come clear at holiday
season, when Hardwar ships on PC.

Gremlin's interest in acquiring music for
use in games has not all been smooth
sailing, however. Although there's no
suggestion that its dealings with the small
indie Warp are anything but harmonious, it
has fallen foul of the arcane practices and
attitudes of the mainstream record
industry. Mattocks offers these dark words:

Tetsuya Mlzuguchl's love of
clubbing is soon to permeate
Into Saga's new Touring Car
coin-op

"There are a few attitudes in the music
industry that need to change. It mustn't see
what we're doing as a revenue stream, but
as a new outlet Otherwise, this industry
will turn round and say that we don't need
published music."

SCI had a similarly aggravating
experience recently, when it tried to license
some tracks from Goa Trancers'
Hallucinogen for its forthcoming redesign of
SWIV for the PC. The company's Sam
Forest explains: "We weren't able to get a
license for the tracks in time for the game's
release. There was a hassle with getting the
royalties cleared. It's a bloody nightmare,
really." This reflects well, strangely enough,

Jl^L CERTAIN GAIV1ES

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on Virgin's efforts with the Wipeout 2097
album. Record companies like Virgin could
profit immensely from adopting a sensibly
open-minded attitude towards computer
games. Indeed, they will have to if they are
to avoid long-term damage from Internet-
based sample banks, such as Zion Train's
Sound Pool, if they take off.

Samplers, drum machines,

sequencers, and synths have irrevocably

changed the nature of
music. Not just as a
result of the peculiar
sounds they can be
used to make, but
because they enable
people to make rich
music very cheaply.
People have been
known, in the 1 990s, to
create tracks in their bedrooms and watch
them rise up the charts. And, as technology
forges ahead, it becomes both cheaper and
more doable. Only recently, however —
particular since the likes of Carl Craig and
Derrick May picked up Kraftwerk's gauntlet
and invented techno in the dismal
surroundings of Detroit and various
pioneering American artists turned disco
into house — have artists started to get to
grips with the artistic possibilities offered by
sophisticated, electronic music technology.

These are still relatively early days in
the world of electronic music, and pioneers
using digital studios and new media are
constantly discovering vast acres of new
ground which is just begging to be broken.
Whether, like Zion Train (see page 87), you
choose to use electronica to break free
from the shackles of the record industry or,
like Header, you accidentally stumble across
a new way of marrying cutting-edge music
to interactivity, you will find that electronic
machinery can open doors into unexplored
areas of the music world.

And considering the similarity between
certain game genres and films, it is
surprising that classical composers, who
nowadays are almost universally well
practiced in the art of scoring music for
films, have rarely turned their hands to
creating game music (apart from in Japan,
of course, where RPG companies such as
Enix and Square have employed world
class composers and orchestras for I
producing the score for CD albums of
game music). But is starting to happen,
and surely shows proves beyond doubt
that, at last, game developers are taking
game music seriously.
r v

\ /

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.next-generation.com/

ng special

In turn, some of the finest

classical composers in the world are
taking game music seriously. The
Australian Barrington Pheloung has a back
catalogue of 48 ballets and a reputation as
one of the world's most talented
conductors. He is a darling of the
classical scene. But he is best known for
his knack of bringing music to the masses,
such as for the U.K.'s "Inspector Morse"
TV series and the film Truly, Madty, Deeply.

Now Pheloung has completed the
music for Broken Sword,Virgin's animated
point-and-click game adventure. Pheloung
is quite a character, too. Now 37, he
started off as a blues guitarist before
forcing his way into London's prestigious
Royal College of Music at the age of 18.
This means he's not afraid to experiment
The Broken Sword music, he claims, is
unique and ground-breaking:"Virgin would
probably have been happy with a main » (
theme and a few cues, but I thought that
rather than creating an orchestral score
like for a movie, I could make one which
interacted with the game. So I've written
over three hours of music, which is unique
in the genre, and over 400 cues."

"These are designed to relate to other
cues, but not necessarily in the same way
each time. So if, say, you go down an
alleyway for the second time, you might
find the music is not related to what you
heard the first time. I devised a new
musical technique of cross-fading any X-
cue with a D-cue, which gives about 40
hours of different musical permutations. It
was a dream score for me. With a big
feature film score, all the parameters are
set to the frame and the second before v_
you start. But with Broken Sword, I could
write different music for the same
occurrences so that if, say, a character goes
down an alleyway, it could make you think
very differently about what he's thinking."

Pheloung is proud that he has broken
new ground ("To me, it's a brave new
world, and I want to get in on the ground
floor") and is keen do more work along
similar lines:"l want to take it to the
extreme. I could easily have written five \
or six hours of music, because it's such a
beautiful game, but we were restricted to f
two CDs." Pheloung scored the music for
an orchestra and added the structural / \
elements by breaking it up into sampled / \
chunks. This, he says, was a mammoth
task "It's like doing six feature films at \ j
once. The biggest feature film score I've
done was a two-hour one for
Nostradamus. That had two and a half sides

1 /

of letter paper of cues. Broken Sword took
up more than 400 sheets, which were
pasted all round the walls of my studio."

He's full of good words for the game:
"What's beautiful about it is that I can play
it with my two little kids and the whole
family around one monitor." And his
soundtrack has undoubtedly enhanced it,
both in aesthetic terms and even jn _J
gameplay terms: "The music is full of clues.
Sometimes, these are total red herrings,
but sometimes they're genuinely helpful."

As if more proof were )

needed of the newly developed serious
approach among game developers toward
music, Japanese developerWarp has
commissioned Michael Nyman to produce
the soundtrack for its forthcoming Saturn
spectacular £0 (currently commanding
huge amounts of attention in Japan).
Warp head honcho Kenji Eno has this to
say about the project:"Nyman wrote the

comfortable with each other. There are
factions that will shun such underground
efforts as mere transitory affliations, while
companies like Psygnosis will continue to
be appreciated by a hardcore of dance
music gameheads.

Of course, the real revolution in game
music will come when such quality
musicians sit down and work out how to
produce a flexible, interactive score.
The danger with this current trend is
that some musicians aren't being
challenged by the discipline of interactivity
and are merely asked to hand over CD
tracks. This is the lazy approach.
Imagine if these artists could create a
program that automatically arranged a
muscial theme to accompany your game
on the fly. This is the holy grail of game
music right now, and let's hope that
these musicians realize it. Still, in the
meantime, this could be the start of p-vo
a beautiful friendship... tr3

I've written over three hours of music for
Broken Sword which is unique in the genre

music for Peter Greenaway's The Cook,
The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, but at the
time he was not so famous in japan. First,
I wanted to use Ryuichi Sakamoto, who is
very famous, but I couldn't find what I
was looking for in his music. Only
Nyman's would fit my game. We asked
him to perform 14 pieces for £0 with a
bigger orchestra (he usually performs
with smaller groups) — some are just for
piano and some are full orchestral ones.
£0 has CG and polygon parts and Nyman's
music can be listened to in the CG parts,
the introduction, and the ending. We will
also release a music CD from the game."

These are clearly the days for the
music and videogame industries to feel

Barrington Pheloung (left) created over three hours of music for Virgin's Broken Sword, while
Warp's EO employs a score by Michael "The Piano" Nyman (above right)

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.ru

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ng special

Atari's Historic
Road to Nowhere

Atari is dead. Now, Don Thomas, the former "Voice of Atari/ 7 recounts
the grand history and painful demise of the U.S. company
that first started the whole videogame ball bouncing...

s of July 30,Atari ceased
to exist. The company
that introduced
videogames to the world
in 1972 failed 24 years
later under the weight of
a struggling Jaguar business that showed no
sign of recovering. Don Thomas's first-
hand account of Atari's roller-coaster
history (he ran both the public relations

and customer service divisions for many
years) has been posted at various locations
on the Internet. But Next Generation is
glad to reprint his story here, as both a
tribute to the company responsible for
much of videogaming's glorious past, and as
a warning to the current kings of the hill
that success can be lost as easily as it can
be found. Next Generation salutes
Atari, and respectfully acknowledges that

we wouldn't be here today had Atari's
pioneers not paved the way for so many
others to follow.

Over to you Don Thomas:

It's odd to imagine that an

institution as big and as powerful as Atari
once was has been shut down in recent
days. The real amazement for me is that it
was all accomplished without a measurable

Next Generation OnUne, htlp://www.next-generation.com/

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scream,

It was only as recently as mid 1995 that
Atari executives believed things were
finally taking a better turn

flinch, either from inside or outside the
gaming industry.

I can understand that gamers wanted
to push Pong out the door early in the
timeline. I can appreciate that the classics
such as Missile Command and Asteroids do
not push 32-bit and 64-bit systems to any
technological limits. I know all these things
intellectually, but the heart cannot face the
truth that the world and the corporate
machine known as Atari could not find an
amicable way to coexist.

OnTuesday.July 30, l996,Atari took
each and every share of its company
(ATC), wrapped them all in a tight bundle
and presented them to The JTS
Corporation; a maker and distributor of
hard drives. On Wednesday, the shares
were traded under the symbol of JTS.
Within a few weeks, the remaining staff of
Atari that were not dismissed or had not
resigned, moved toJTS's headquarters in
San Jose, California. The three people were
assigned to different areas of the building,
and all that really remains of the Atari
namesake is a Santa Clara warehouse full
of unsold Jaguar and Lynx products.

It was only as recently as mid 1 995 that
Atari executives and staff believed things

In an effort to salvage the pending
WalMart situation, desperate attempts to
run infomercials across the country were
activated. The programs were
professionally produced by experts in the
infomercial industry and designed to enable
Atari to run slightly different offers in
different markets. In spite of the relatively
low cost of running infomercials, the cost

Don Thomas witnessed firsthand many
of Atari's tumultuous ups and downs.
Now, he asks that Atari is not forgotten

[But] the few parents that picked up the Jaguar
were chastised by disappointed children
on Christmas Day

were finally taking a better turn. WalMart
had agreed to place Jaguar game systems in
400 of its Superstores across the country.
Largely based on this promise of new hope
and the opportunities that open when
such deals are made, Atari invested heavily
in the product and mechanisms required
to serve the WalMart chain. But the
philosophical beliefs of the Atari decision
makers that great products never need
advertising or promotions put the WalMart
deal straight into a tailspin.

With money tied up in the product on
shelves and in distribution costs, not much
was left to saturate any marketplace with
advertising. While parents rushed into
stores to get their kids Saturns or
PlayStations, the few that picked up the
Jaguar were chastised by disappointed
children on Christmas Day.

to produce them and support them is very
high. The results were disappointing. Of
the few thousand people who actually
placed orders, many of them returned
their purchases after the holidays. The kids
wanted what they saw on TV during the
day. They wanted what their friends had.
They wanted what the magazines were
raving about.

Ill early l996walMartbegan

returning all remaining inventory of Jaguar
products. After reversing an "advertising
allowance" Atari was obligated to accept,
the net benefit Atari realized was an
overflowing warehouse of inventory in
semi-crushed boxes with firmly affixed
price and security tags. Unable to find a
retailer willing to help distribute the
numbers required to stay afloat,Atari

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Call 1-800-771-3772 for Game Rating Information.

S3d and Mindscape
make MegaRace 2

virtually discontinued operations and
traded any remaining cash to JTS in
exchange for a graceful way to exit the
industry's back door.

Now that JTS has "absorbed" Atari, it
really doesn't know what to do with the
bulk of machines Atari hoped to sell. It's
difficult to liquidate them. Even at
liquidation prices, consumers expect a
minimal level of support that JTS cannot
offer. The hundreds of calls they receive
from consumers that track them down
each week are answered to the best ability
of one person. Inquiries with regard to
licensing Atari classic favorites for other
applications such as handheld games are
handled by Mr. John Skruch who was with
Atari for over 1 3 years.

Yes, it looked like a toilet, and yes, the ill-
fated CD-ROM add-on for Jaguar was the
final hardware nail in the Atari coffin

In 1983 no one needed
to buy a new system.
This, combined with
Warner's obscene
spending, amounted
to a daily loss of
over $2 million

Unfortunately, programmers grossly
underestimated the time required to
develop 64-bit games. The jump from 8-bit
and 16-bit was wider than anticipated. In
addition, Atari was already spread thin
monetarily but was required to finance
almost every title that was in development.

After the initial launch, it took Atari
almost a year before an assortment of
games began to hit store shelves. Even
then, having missed the 1994 holidays,
many of the planned titles were de-
accelerated to minimize problems caused
by rushing things too fast. Consumers
were not happy, and retailers were equally
dismayed. The few software ads Atari was
able to place in magazines often stated
incorrect release dates because
dates changed almost every day,
although magazine lead times can
be up to 120 days in advance.

It was in 1 983 that

Warner Communications handed Jack
Tramiel the reins of Atari. By this time,
Atari was often categorized as a household
name, but few households wanted to
spend much money on new software, and
the systems were lasting forever. No one

Since Atari couldn't afford to launch Jaguar
nationwide, it was introduced in New York
and San Francisco first

In Spite Of Nintendo's claim that
their newest game system is the first 64-bit
game system on the market,Atari actually
introduced the first 64-bit system just
before Christmas in 1993. Since Atari
couldn't afford to launch the system
nationwide, the system was introduced in
the New York and San Francisco markets
first. Beating Saturn and PlayStation to the
next-generation punch.Atari initially
enjoyed moderate success with the Jaguar
system and managed to lure shallow
promises from third-party companies to
support it.

needed to buy new ones. That, combined
with Warners obscene spending, amounted
to a daily loss of over $2 million. Atari was
physically spread all over Silicon Valley with
personnel and equipment in 80 separate
buildings, not counting international offices
and manufacturing facilities.

Tramiel took only the home consumer
branch of Atari and forced Warner to deal
with the arcade division separately. Within
a few years, Tramiel took the company
public, introduced an innovative new line of
affordable 16-bit computers, and released
the 7800 videogame system.

'HI

You. The finish line. And seven nasty
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To accomplish these miracles for Atari,
Tramiel implemented his "business is war"
policies. Of the 80 buildings in Sunnyvale,
Santa Clara, and Milpitas, almost every one
was amputated from Atari's body of
liabilities. The people were fired; the
work, the heritage, and the history were
liquidated. Those who survived were
unsym pathetically required to fill in the
gaps. While most tried, few actually found
a way to successfully do what a dozen
people had done before them.

Atop the mountain, Tramiel pressed
with an iron thumb. All Fed/Ex mailings
were required to be pre-approved by one
of a handful of people. "Unsigned"
purchase orders went unpaid regardless of
the urgencies that inspired their creation.
Employees found themselves spending
valuable time trying to find ways around
the system to accomplish their jobs. Many
lost their jobs for bending the rules or
failing to find a way to make things work.

But as horrible as it all sounds, it
actually was the only way to protect Atari
as a company and give it a chance to
survive as it did. Tramiels introduction of

S3 d and Eidos
Interactive make
Confirmed Kill

scr

Nolan Bushneli founded Atari in 1972.
The name is the English translation of
the Japanese word for "check" in Go

European destinations to capture the
higher margin.

This enraged Atari loyalists in the
United States. While waiting months for
stores to get deliveries, international
magazines touted ample supplies. Those in
the know within the U.S. became dismayed.
The remainder never knew Atari was
slowly abandoning the value of Atari's

Employees spent valuable time trying to find
ways around the system to accomplish their
jobs. Many lost their jobs for bending the rules

the 1 6-bit computer was initially hearty in
the United States, but it went extremely
well in Europe. Europeans were not
accustomed to "affordable" technology,
and, although the Atari computers were
not IBM compatible, it didn't matter
because people could afford them.
Tramiel's private laugh was that the
computers were sold at prices much
higher in Europe than Americans were
willing to pay for them. As a result, most
of the machines were being shipped to

Sam Tramiel, son of Jack Tramiel (who
founded Commodore and bought Atari ir
1983) was in control at the very end

name recognition, in pursuit of quicker
profits and a new market in Europe and
around the world.

On a technical level, Atari 16-
bit computers were ahead of their time.
For less than $ 1 ,000, consumers could
enjoy "multimedia" before the phrase was
ever really widely used. The icon-based
working environment preceded Windows'
popularity although the essential attributes
of the two environments were very similar.
Built-in MIDI became an instant hit in the
high-end music industry. Tasks were
activated and manipulated with a mouse,
and the system accepted industry standard
add-on peripherals such as printers,
modems, and diskettes.

With all the genius that went into the
technology of the machines, very little
equivalent genius went into promoting and
marketing them. Tramiel was the founder
of Commodore Business Machines. When
he introduced the PET computer in 1977,
Tramiel discovered he didn't have to call up
a single publication. Instead, they all
flocked to his door demanding an
opportunity to see the product. News

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ng special

Now that JTS has "absorbed" Atari, it really
doesn't know what to do with the bulk of Jaguars
and games that Atari hoped to sell

magazines. Science Journals. Business
newsletters. Newspapers. They all came
with microphone, camera, and pen in hand.
Any time a switch was added, a new 4K
application was announced, or a new
retailer was signed, the press smelled a
story and wanted to cover it

Today, a new videogame announcement
may generate a request from any of the
dozens of gaming magazines for a press
release, but a lot of costly work has to be
done to assure fair or better coverage.
Editorial people are swamped with
technical news. Samples are mailed
regularly to their attention. Faxes fly in
through the phone lines, and e-mail jams
up their hard drives. It takes a lot to grab
the press's attention.

While Atari retained hopes to be
successful with the Jaguar, Atari's marketing
people were fighting established standards
in the industry with severe handicaps.
Since cartridges (the Jaguar is primarily a
cartridge-based system) were so
expensive, editorial people were required
to return them before new ones would be
sent Editors often assign reviews to
freelancers, so retrieving cartridges was
not always easy. Additionally, reviewers
often love their work because they get to
keep the products they write about.

Regardless, the few magazines willing to
cover Atari products were often turned
away because of a lack of programmable
cartridges. In-store signs and posters were
sometimes created, but many retail chains
charge premiums to manufacturers that
wanted to display them. Some direct mail
campaigns were implemented, but Atari
often could not afford to keep the things
being advertised on schedule. Therefore,
the ads were published and distributed, but
the product was not available.

CI early, Tramiel's experience with the
world beating a path to the door of a
company making a better mousetrap no
longer applied. The world had revolved a
few times beneath him and he never
noticed. The tactics used to successfully
sell Commodore computers were simply
antiquated notions from the past.

Meanwhile, Sony launched PlayStation
with over $500 million in marketing funds.
Today, PlayStation is considered the most
successful next-generation gaming machine
throughout the world. Sony bought the

market. Tramiel's Atari never learned how,
and could never afford, to do this.

In the I990s,therestofthe

world discovered that IBM-compatible
computers were becoming more powerful
and more affordable. The world always did
want computers at home just like at the
office, and companies like Dell and
Gateway exemplified the industry's trend
toward home-based office computers. As
a result, companies like Commodore, Atari,
and NEXT couldn't compete any longer.

While the dedicated user base of each
of these systems felt abandoned by these

But for some pathetic reason Atari's
final days came and went with no tribute,
no fanfare, and no dignified farewells. Why?
Where did all the talent go? Where are all
the archives? Where are the vaults?
Where are the unpublished games and
where are the originals of those that were?
Why hasn't a company stepped forward to
adopt the remaining attributes Atari has to
offer? Where are the creditors?

What's happened to all the properties
and sites? Where are the databases,
warranty cards, promotional items, notes
on meetings, unanswered mail? Who owns
RO. Box 61657? Who works in the old
Atari offices? Where do consumers have
their systems fixed? Who is publishing
new games? Who sells Atari products?
Why are people talking about Atari online?

I'm an ex-Atari employee and proud to

1. Atari's 16-bit handheld, the Lynx; 2. The Atari
32-bit Falcon; 5. Atari's TT — an ST spin-off; 6. A
game system that for many of us was the start

7800; 3. The STBook (a portable ST); 4. The
tnd — of course — the original VCS, the
of it all (clockwise from top left)

companies having to leave the computer
market, the inevitable prevailed.
Commodore jumped ship, NEXT changed
business goals completely, and Atari
invested what they had left in the Jaguar
game system. Even today, Apple is kicking
and screaming. As good as Apple was at
creating a huge niche for itself, it focused
too heavily on education. When kids grow
up and get jobs, they want business
machines. Unfortunately for Atari, IBM
was always the business standard.

When one examines

Atari's history, an appreciation grows for
how many businesses and people were a
part of the game over the years. Atari's
founder, Mr. Nolan Bushnell, started
Chuck E. Cheese Pizza. Apple Computer
was born in a garage by ex-Atari
employees. Activision was founded by Ace
Atari programmers. The list goes on.

have been. I'm still an Atari devotee and
proud to be. To me, these are questions
that all deserve answers, but who in 1 996
and the future will ask them?

The best people to ask are those who
have exposure to the public. If you believe
Atari left us without saying good-bye,
contact Dateline at dateline@nbc.com. If
you rea//y believe, write to newspapers and
other news programs. A letter in your
own words would be great! I'd spend
money for a thorough retrospect on Atari.
Wouldn't you?

At least, wouldn't it be nice to
say a proper "Good-bye"?

The end of an era

Atari's story is one that certainly should
not be forgotten by anyone who has ever
enjoyed a videogame. A special forum for
discussion has been set up on NG OnLine
at http://www.next-generation.com.

\e«t Generation OnLine, http://www.nexi-generaiion.com/

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□

as gaming truly progressed into the
next generation? Could be. This month,
two venerable gaming series finally get
a much needed 3D facelift: everyone
give a warm hello to Pitfall 3D and
Street Fighter EX. Also, take a look at
some games pushing in new directions: Mr.
Tank, Cloak, and Psychic Force

124 Esoteria 3 PC CD-ROM

Newcomer Mobeus Designs brings the
player into a massive 3D realm

130 Street Fighter EX arcade

Is it final ly Street Fighter 31 Wei I, no, but
at least it's Street Fighter in 3D

135 Cloak PC CD-ROM

A new graphic adventure from Sierra that
pushes forward with innovative features

138 Armored Fist 2 PC CD-ROM

Yet another Voxel Space 2 project from the
company with the patent, Novalogic

141 Spider PLAYSTATION

It's 3D but it's really 2D — can a plucky
arachnid make this one work?

149 Pitfall 3D

Harry Jr. makes the 32-bit leap of faith -
can he survive in a 3D world?

157 Shivers 2 pc cd-rom

Hapless teens and haunted villages highlight
another upcoming Sierra title

163 Queen — the Eye pc

As in Queen, the band — save the world
while listening to 70's rock anthems

167 Mr. Tank PC CD-ROM

Too loopy to be slm, can this fun effort
from Rebellion find a PC audience?

171 Psychic Force ps-x

The latest wrinkle in 3D fighting games
flies onto the PlayStation

173 Tenka PLAYSTATION

One of the first of the PlayStation's next
wave continues to shape up

174 Ridge Racer PLAYSTATION

That's Grand Prix — the premier
PlayStation racing game gets a facelift

179 DaytonaCCE SATURN

And this is Championship Circuit Edition
— the Saturn counterpart gets the same

More round characters — and surprising
violence — from Andrew Spencer

191 Duckman

USA TV's brutally cynical 'toon makes the
leap to PlayStation graphic adventuredom

197 Conquest Earth

Gaseous aliens from Jupiter invade Earth in
this real-time wargame from Eidos

201 J2 NINTENDO (

Enix, of all companies, takes a crack at
artificial life — but is that was it really is?

204 Toshinden 3 PLAYSTATION

Guess what? Takara learns to count to "3"
before Capcom does — hmm...

210 Dark Reign pc cd-rom

Activision hopes to put a dent into the C&C
genre with strange units and map editor

212 Broken Helix

Konami's 3D shooter fires off bullets and
one-liners, and it's got a guy named Bruce

214 Independence Day MULT I

You've seen the movie, now play the game,
also courtesy of Fox — Interactive, that is

It's been two years in the making, but is it
a breakthrough in gameplay, or just weird?

223 Gretsky3D ARCADE

Atari may be dead, but the arcade division
is still kicking — and slashing

227 Dual Heroes

Nintendo 64 finally gets what it should
have had from the start — a 3D brawler 123

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.neKt-genetation.com/

ng alphas

Esoteria 3

Mobeus Design's first game
promises to be more than a run-of-
the-mill 3D shooter

Huge buildings loom in the
distance, but you can
approach them, enter, and
explore the rooms

Release Date: Spring '97
Origin: U.S.

he chicken or the egg
argument could be
used to describe the
relationship between
technology and
popular new genres
of games. While new technology
enables entertainment software to
evolve, true 3D shooters like Tomb

Raider and MDK currently make up
the genre that seems to push
technology further. Add to that lineup
Esoteria 3 from Mobeus Design, a
Chicago area start-up formed in 1995.

The title planet, Esoteria 3, has
recently been divided by civil war. As a
self-aware cyborg named Raven,
whose metallic appearance gives him a
striking resemblance to a boardless
Silver Surfer, the player's goals are to
infiltrate an enemy city and overthrow
a regime bent on manufacturing an
army of cybernetic soldiers.

Once into the game, the

innovative camera mechanics become
immediately apparent. On the surface, it
appears to be a standard over-the-
shoulder view. But the floating mouse-
controlled camera enables the player to
look in a wide range of directions, all
from the character's point of view. "You
control Raven, and whatever Raven
sees, you see," says Chris Lai, Senior
V.P. and Game Designer at Mobeus. In
actuality, the camera fluctuates
between a chase-person view and an
over-the-shoulder view, which enables

Esoteria 3
drops the
player into a
giant world
six scale
miles across

Next Generation Online, http://www,next-generation,com/

ng alphas

"These aren't
monsters,
they're
military
personnel
who are
trained to
kill you"

Chris Lai, Game Designer

the player to move one way and look
and shoot in another.

"Instead of manipulating the
camera like in Mario 64, this camera
is directly linked to Raven, so you're
never looking from some arbitrary
third-person angle/' Lai explains.

Unlike the segmented levels of
gameplay found in most titles, Esoteria
3 drops the player into a giant world
six scale miles across, in which all the
different missions take place. The
player runs, shoots, swims, jumps, and
lays mines in various environments,
including cities, forests, deserts, and
aquatic areas.

"You can pretty much go anywhere
you want. If you see something, you can

go to it," Lai says. "Id did a
fabulous job pioneering 3D,
and we feel this is the next
step." To keep gameplay
moving forward, mission
objectives uniquely tied into
the environment must be
met. "Throughout the game
you'l I see a train. Eventual ly
you need to get on that
train, and, during the battle,
the train goes out of control. It actually
banks and tilts depending on the
speed," Lai says, "and if you're standing
on top of the train as it rounds a corner,
you'll begin to slide off."

Graphically, the world is built with
polygons, but the enemies and main
character are all sprite-based. "We
want to have all the detailed facets of
real buildings — the ability to climb on
ledges, break windows, and examine
objects like tables and lamps." says Lai.
"But by using sprite-based enemies, we
can have a lot more of them on the
screen at the same time. We also want
the game to run at a good speed, and It
has to be available to all Pentium
users." Most of the 25 types of enemies

The unique, seemingly
endless architecture
gives players the feeling
that they are in a real city

The second-person perspective links the player to Raven via the mouse-driven camera, providing an excellent new form of line-of-sight control. While no
change of view is needed when crossing this bridge (above left), it is essential to dodging enemy aircraft fire raining down from above (above right)

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.neit-generation.com/

ng alphas

"It's not just
gonna be
another 3D
action game.
We're trying
to expand on
a lot more
than that"

is Lai, Game Designer

are humanoid soldiers who look similar
to Stormtroopers. Some obligatory
mech-looking robots and some
particularly-nasty flying robots even
exist in the game.

"These aren't monsters, they're
military personnel and robots who are
trained to kill you," Lai says, noting
that the computer's AI will be tricky
because it's programmed to draw
players into an ambush.

Weapons exist in primary

and secondary forms: a primary
weapon will attach itself
to Raven's body and draw power
from him for unlimited shots,
secondary weapons require Raven
use ammo. Raven can pack one of
each type of weapon. Of course,
multiple special weapons will be
available, including a cloaking
device and some extremely deadly
cluster-bombs.

Esoteria 3 wil I also feature
interactive sound and some unique
death animation for each of the
enemies. More importantly, it will
support 16 players for networked
competition. "But it's not just gonna be
another Quake or another 3 D action
game. We're trying to expand on a lot
more than that," Lai insists,
maintaining that much of what's been
shown only demonstrates the basic
engine. Lai is hesitant to say much more
about what will be added.

"We don't like to talk a lot about
the game's features unless we have
them to show. As gamers ourselves, we
know the worst thing is an over-hyped
game that doesn't live up to its hype,"
Lai says.

We couldn't agree more.

t labor ate high rises (top)
and long hallways (middle)
each pose a unique
challenge to the player

Esoteria 3 not only puts the player in hostile urban environments (top), it
enables them to explore forest and desert terrains as well (above).
Weapons are useful no matter where Raven finds himself

These two renderings are representative of two classes of enemy
soldiers. Yes, they are as tough as they look. It's up to you, as Raven,
to defend yourself against them

Next Generation OnUno, http://www.next-generation.com/

How did v/e come up with the exciting
new features found in Destruction Derby 21

By accident.

Dl : DD : It : El

Destruction Derby™ 2 is the perfect combo of balls-to-the-wall racing and 3D wreckage. Seven

new tracks are longer, wider, faster, plus four destruction bowls. Cars roll, cars flip, cars fly off

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ng alphas

Street Fighter EX

It's 3D... but it ain't number three

EX is being
developed
with the
same PSX-
based
technology
that was
used to
create Star
Gladiator

Format: Arcade

Publisher: Capcom

Developer: Capcom

Release Date: Winter

Origin: Japan

t this rate, there will
never be a Street
Fighter 3. Think about
it — by diversifying
the Street Fighter
franchise into, most
recently, The Movie, Alpha, vs. X-Men,
and EX brands, Capcom moves the
series away from ever having to live up
to that critically incremental number.

The fighters look similar In
design to those seen in Tekken
2. Classic characters like Ken
and Ryu have made a fairly
smooth leap from 2D to 3D (top
left). A new character, Doctrine
Dark, throws his spear (right)

Staple moves
return with staple
characters. Ryu
executes the
Dragon Punch
(above) and Ken
hurls an ever-
popular fireball at
Skullo (left)

But of ail the Street Fighters
since SF2 (now five years old), this one
at least potentially looked as if it
could've earned the sacred "three."

Regardless of the name, EX is
currently being developed with the
same PSX-based technology that was
used to create Capcom's first 3D
fighter, Star Gladiator. Of the eight
selectable characters (no word on
who's the boss or who's hidden), four
staple SF veterans make their
polygonal debut. Co-heroes Ken and
Ryu, Zangief, and Chun-Li are now
joined by four all-new characters:
Skullo, a skeleton-suited warrior; a
kick-boxer named Pullum; Doctrine
Dark, who throws a rope and spear
like Mortal Kombafs Scorpion; and
an as yet to be named, but "very
serious," fourth brawler.

Considering Star Gladiator ported
fairly quickly and easily to the
PlayStation, we should expect EX to
do the same. However, at press time,
Capcom is keeping typically mum
about this coin-op title, never mind
console conversions. Either way, it will
be interesting to see how well the first
family of fighters holds up in the
polygon world of Team Tekken
and the Virtua Fighters. 4M

Next Generation OnLlrte, http://www.nesfl-generaiion.com/

£2 ..Ui>

HKONIGLES

QF THE swofte

TO SERVE KING ARTHUR. TO BATTLE EVIL. TO RISKALL FORTHE HONOR OF CAMELOT.

able is threatened. The King's half
ister, the evil sorceress Morgana, has
owed to destroy Camelot and all
that Arthur has created.

Em '

EST.

Gel Online ai hup:/ / www.psygnosis.com

Lomax & Evil Ed
take Good vs Evil to a
whole new level.

44 of them to be precise.

If you want to fight evil, then you'd better be ready to go the
distance. The mischievous Lomax is in way over his head. But
only he has the power to conquer Evil Ed and break the diabolical
hex that has been placed on his friends.

Zoom in & out of detailed landscapes up to 10 layers deep. Use
amazing flame-thrower helmets, helicopter helmets and many
more, to vanquish evil.

But look out. The Adventures of Lomax can be habit forming,
and that's something even you may not be strong enough to fight.

ng alphas

Cloak

Sierra forges ahead with a new interface and structure
that could spell the next leap in graphic adventures

With your remote control droid cast adrift on an alien planet, you must
help It etude the mind-reading enemy scum and save the human race

ny short list of the
world's most prolific
publishers of graphic
adventures would
certainly have to
include Sierra. In
fact, the company all but had the
genre to itseff from the late 1980s
through the early '90s. Now the
company hopes to push the envelope
once again with its new "sci-fi spy
thriller," Cloak.

On the player's homeworid

Altopia, rumors surface that the
inhabitants of enemy planet Baccos
(known colloquially as "Bulbs") have
developed a technology which can
enslave the minds of humans. As an
agent of Altopia's key espionage
division, the player is unable to
infiltrate the Bulbs directly , since their
psionic abilities render any physical
disguise useless. Instead, a surveillance
robot designed to pass as a domestic
droid is sent in, controlled by the player
through a telepresence pod.

This twist rather neatly collapses
the distinction between the player and

Release Date:

Origin: U.S.

the player's character, since all the
player's character does during the
game is essentially watch a viewscreen
and work through a computer
Interface. Lead Designer Mark
Engelberg brings to the project a
wealth of experience in this area, as a
former VR designer for NASA (where
he worked on a simulation of the
Hubble telescope servicing mission),
and other educational and
entertainment VR applications.

However, unlike what you might
expect from a VR team, Engelberg and
the rest of the Cloak team didn't opt

"I've burned
out on games
that are
big on
exploration
but lacking in
interactivity"

Mark Engelberg, Lead Designer

Believe it or not, this
freaky-looking character is
your persona in the game

The inhabitants of the enemy planet Baccos are referred to derisively as
"Bulbs" — for fairly obvious reasons

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.next-generatiori.com/

ng alphas

Although the game is
played partly from a first-
person perspective,
players must also make
use of third person views
while spying through
surveillance cameras

Designer
Mark

Engelberg
brings to the
project a
wealth of
experience
as a former
VR designer
for the
Hubble
telescope
servicing
mission

for a fully modeled on the fly 3D
world. Instead, each room or area is a
"node," where, through a process
similar to Quicktime video, the player
has the freedom to pan around 360
degrees and zoom in and out. "The full
degree of freedom in something like
Doom is a real plus," Engelberg
explains, "but it's not so good for us
because we wanted the graphics
quality to be very high. Second, from a
game design standpoint, I've burned
out on games that are big on
exploration but lacking in interactivity.
What I'm trying to do is direct people
to what's interesting, to make the
movement very quick and almost
invisible so they can get right to things
they can interact with."

Cloak makes extensive use

of the multithreading capabilities
within Windows 95. So, while playing
through an area, the game can
simultaneously begin loading the
information for branching areas. Then,
once the player makes a choice and
moves on, load time is nearly
imperceptible.

Multithreading is also responsible
for another of Cloak's interesting
features: the multi-window interface.
"This came directly from the desire to
not have delays in gameplay,"
Engelberg says. "Although we've cut
the load time, even best case there are
still times when something loading
freezes up the whole window. Wei I,
why should that hang the whole
system? Why not suspend just the
thing that's waiting and let you keep
doing other things? Well, if that's
going to be effective, you have to have
other things to do." Any of the game's
three windows can display at any time
the robot's POV, the view from
security cameras under the player's
control, an information database, the
inventory screen, or any other resource
the player has uncovered.

"One of the things I'm proud of,"
Engelberg continues, "is that the
puzzles are very diverse. I have a

background in puzzle design, and
most of the puzzles are purely
informational in nature. I don't want
to give anything away just yet, but the
thing 1 like best is that the puzzles
would be totally valid if you were
really there —
there's not much
picking up objects
and figuring out how
to apply them." For
example, one puzzle
involves getting two
correct songs to play
on a pair of

jukeboxes. Listening to the songs
played simultaneously reveals,
through overlapping lyrics, the
location of an important item.

Whether or not Cloak lives up to
the goals of its ambitious designers i
of course, still open to speculation.
However, with such innovations,
it could push the envelope.

The Bulbs' home wo rid
shows an abundance
of biomechaniod,
organic forms

The Cloak team on their "inspirational'' vacation Just before production
began (left). The game closely mirrors these early sketches (right)

6Next Generation OnUne, http://www.neit-genetation.Gom/

nasty little hairy guys before they destroy you-th© \
Baldies. 15 devilishly clever weapons, lOO intense levels,
hidden and bonus rounds, hot action graphics in
five weird worlds (hell included). And it's the only 1

multi- player, extended -play game with a chrome
dome crew. Warning: May cause permanent hair loss*

ng alphas

Armored Fist 2

Soon to be seen on a PC screen near you:
Novalogic's latest Voxel Space project

r' i

Voxel Space

2 enables

higher

resolution

and finer

voxel

elements

The Voxel Space 2-generated terrain Is one of Armored Fist Zs high
points — this kind of high-res landscape doesn't come along every day

ovalogic (NG 20) is
certainly keeping busy
this season, with the
release of F-22,
Commanche 3, and,
without much further
ado, Armored Fist 2. A sequel to one
of last year's more intriguing tank
sims (NG 02), this latest version uses
Voxel Space 2, the high-res update to
the company's patented voxel engine,
and features the M1A2, General
Dynamics's latest upgrade to the
preferred hardware of Desert Storm,
the Abrams main battle tank.

Once again and for the record,
whereas a pixel is a 2D picture
element, a voxel is a 3D picture
element. Unlike building a world with
flat polygons, a voxel world is more
akin to building a world out of tiny
Lego blocks. As such, each small
element of the world can have its own
appearance, location in space, and (in
theory) physical properties. Voxels are
especially good at modeling uneven,
realistic terrains, so for a sim set
entirely at ground level (like, oh, a
tank sim, for example) it has distinct
advantages over traditional texture-
mapped polygons.

So far however, the technology
hasn't progressed to the point where
more animate objects can be
effectively built from voxels (although
it is getting there), so Armored Fist 2

AF2 doesn't stop at
tanks, it features all
kinds of hardware

Format: PC CD-ROM

Publisher: Novalogic

Developer: Novalogic

Release Date: December
Origin: U.S.

blends its voxel terrain with polygon-
based vehicles. Voxel Space 2 also
enables higher resolution, and finer
voxel elements.

Like its predecessor, Armored Fist
2 is a combination sim and grid-based
wargame, adding a strategic element
to the tank-based action. Like all of
Novalogic's recent releases, this latest
rev is also fully networkable for up to
eight players. Given the excellence of
the original Armored F/st, this
upgrade should be a worthy
Novalogic effort.

The missions are a varied lot (including the obligatory Desert Storm
scenarios). However, since the game is fully networkable, players aren't
limited to the missions on the disc, they can blow up friends for extra fun

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.next-generation.com/

NEKT TIME YOU FIRE UP YOUR PC,
DO IT WITH DEADLY FORCE.

You've just been named Guardian of Virtua City - an urban killing zone overrun by sharpshooting criminals
packing heavy weaponry and holding hostages. The law and a six shooter are on your side. The odds will
never be. Introducing Virtua Squad, Sega's brilliant PC version of its smash arcade shooter Virtua Cop.
With non-stop action, it now explodes across your desktop with all the criminal ferocity of its arcade
partner in crime. Tweaked with unsurpassed fast twitch response and dynamic 3D environments, the
rapid-fire gameplay will leave you drenched in the unyielding onslaught of
polygon-based thugs. Think fast or prepare to eat lead.

[BBS] SEGA-SALES
http ://www. sega . com/segapc/

ilHD '--£ Knc in;-

IRKI ft

M A

KHi! t,t

I «

a* mt "

LJ---

«« Wl*"*

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m ,

;■(■-. ■:'',::.;j i

ng alphas

Spider

3D or not 3D? That is the question. Boss
Studios' 32-bit title offers an eight-legged
adventure through a creepy-crawly world

Format: PlayStation

Spider's world is at times
beautiful and at times
scary. But you can't stray
from the preset path

At times, Spider switches
to different views (top).
OK, a cricket is attacking
the spider. Sure (above)

fter Mario 64, it's
hard to play platform
games that feature
2D control in 3D
environments and not
feel restricted. Sure,
Crash Bandicoot does a good job of
hiding its lack of (literal) depth, and
Pandemonium's fast pace is
specifically designed to keep players
from feeling the need to explore the z-
dimension. But It ain't easy.

Spider, with all it's cool light-
sourcing, polygonal enemies, and 30
levels of gameplay, is essentially a 2D
game. And thus it faces the same
challenge of making the gameplay so
enthralling that players don't feel that
the restrictions placed on movement is
stealing anything from the experience.

In a dilem 1713 reminiscent

of the film Innerspace, the player
assumes the role of a top scientist
who, during a raid on his lab, makes a
last ditch mind-swap with a spider
test-subject to escape being killed.
Now as an eight-legged arachnid hero,

the player must foil the invaders and
attempt to return to a human body.

Primarily a platform adventure,
Spider Incorporates some shooting
elements. While traversing each level,
players must exploit the spider's
natural abilities, like jumping, climbing
walls and ceilings, as well as using silk
to lower themselves from dangerous
heights. But this is no ordinary
arachnid — as a special test-subject it
can shoot and power-up with projectile
weapons like lock-on missiles and a
flame-thrower. Really.

Each level Is built with polygons,
including the enemy rodents and
Insects, with Boss Studios making
fantastic use of PlayStation's light-
sourcing to cast an eerie glow upon the
strange, larger-than-life world. An
active camera follows the spider with
the game camera zooming and panning
similar to Oas/7 Bandicoots.

Spider's designers will argue that
2D control keeps gameplay at an
exciting pace. But will it be enough to
keep Mario 64 disciples from
climbing the walls?

It's not your everyday
spider that comes to the
party packing heat-
seeking missiles, but
then, this is no ordinary
arachnid (above). Use
your web as a rope (left)

Reminiscent of Pulse's
Bad Mojo, it's easy to
enjoy life as a creepy
crawly critter

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.next-generation.com/

"KNOWLEDG

FREE! Get the latest issue
and CD-ROM of Next Generation,
the industry's premiere gaming
magazine, at no risk!

Call 1-888-4IMAGINE* today.

If you are pleased with Next Generation,
you'll receive 11 issues with CD-ROMs (12 in
all) for only $29.95 — almost 70% off the cover
price! We'll also include a monthly
newsletter specific to your platform bound
directly into the magazine.

As a BONUS with your paid order, we'll send
you "The Next Files" — two limited edition
CD-ROMs which include QuickTime™
movies of unreleased games, editors' choice
playable demos, and Internet access to
"subscriber only" online events.

http://www.next-generation.com" J

For the gaming knowledge you demand,
turn to the world's leading authority on the
32/64-bit games industry. Month after
month, Next Generation provides:
> ground-breaking news and

information *'M

• complete analysis of every game / VttJ
platform including PCs || * ^

• candid reviews of the latest titles

• a CD-ROM featuring interactive
M^^- demos and free Internet software for
^L* Macs and PCs, plus high-quality movies of

PlayStation, Saturn, and Nintendo 64 games

SMART PEOPLE GET IT.

"Mon.-Fri., 8:30 am-5:00 pm (pst). Offer good in US only and expires 12/31/96. Canada: SUS 43.95,
includes GST. Foreign 53.95. Prepaid in US funds. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery.

pIawuv? anA ^ru^du^ -fw the,
right fr fUyj in, the NHl? Ail
j/ok did was iriAyjfvur w<jy ik.
Omt tkonk ke wrCt H imkin^
fvrjfct*- aUny tm, vvwrd/S.

Cooper

For game hints call 1 -900-933-S0NY(7S69). The charge Is $0.95 per minute. Callers under the age ol 18 must get parental permission to call. Touch-lone phone is required. Available 24 hoursa day/7 days a week. U.S. only. The Sony Computer Enlertainmenl logo is a trademark ol Sony
Corporation. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are trademarks ol Sony Computer Enlertainmenl Inc. Lt H NOT E is a trademark ol Sony Interactive Enlertainmenl Inc. NHL is a registered trademark and Face Olf is a trademark ol the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and narks

You're a marked man. But try not to let that intimidate you.
Because you have all the teams with all the starting lineups. You
have advanced gameplay and artificial intelligence, with players
cycling and executing powerplays just like they do in the pros.
You can create your own strategy for breakouts, forechecking and
offensive and defensive attacks. You'll be able to swarm the net
or focus your offense around your right winger, left winger or
center. You've got Icon Passing, which lets you execute give-
and-goes as well as any assist leader. Of course, when you go
skate to skate with the likes of Jagr, Lemieux, Hatcher, Coffey and
Brodeur, there's one thing you haven't got. A prayer.

and NHL Team logos and marks depicted herein are the property af the fJHLandlhe respective learns and may not be reproduced without the prior writlen consenl oINHL Enterprises. L.P © 1996 NHL. Officially licensed product ol Ihe National Hockey League. Officially licensed product
ol Ihe National Hockey League Players Association. © 1995 NHLPA. ™ and ® designate trademarks ol licensor and are used under license. Designed and developed by Killer Game. ® Registered trademark of BAUER INC. © 1996 Sony Interactive Entertainmenl Inc. www.sony.com

ng alphas

Pitfall 3D

Harry Jr. from The Mayan Adventure
back — this time in amazing 3D

Harry Jr. enters the 32-bit age and goes 3D. Doing new things while
keeping familiar elements is one of the designers' main challenges

Format: PlayStation

Publisher: Activision

Developer: Activision

Release Date: Spring '97
Origin: U.S.

he original Pitfall is
one of the classics, and
as a series it moved
easily from the 2600
to 8-bit, and (some
would argue not so
easily) from 8-bit to 16-bit. But game
technology has moved on again, and
Pitfall's Harry Jr. is moving with it into
the 32-bit world of
3D graphics.

The challenge of
the Activision team,
headed by Director
Tony Grant, is to
update the graphics
and gameplay while
still retaining a
connection to the
series' roots. "The
original Pitfall was
the first game to

The PlayStation's graphics processor has been put to use generating
moody lighting effects — no two stages look or feel quite the same

Sure it's in 3D, but Harry faces some familiar
obstacles — collapsing bridges, anyone?

break out of the

single screen," Grant says, "It gave
you the impression of this huge world.
So we definitely want to keep that
feeling, let the character roam around
and make sure the environment is
really menacing, that everything's out
to get you. We're putting a lot of
effort to make sure the player is
always surprised."

The Harry Jr. of The Mayan

Adventure has grown up and become
somewhat cynical in the process. He
continues to go on adventures, but
primarily so he can keep the loot for
himself. While searching for a golden
idol in the jungles of South America he
falls through a dimensional rift. "One
of the problems is that there aren't any
frontiers anymore," Grant explains.
"You can't go to deepest, darkest
Africa because people have been there.
So instead we're sending Harry to a
parallel universe. It's a magical,
elemental universe, which is something
new and allows us to push the
franchise in a different direction. It
also lets us have a little consistency to

"Crash
Bandicoot
was very
linear, and
we certainly
didn't like
that"

Tony Grant, Director

Next Generation OnUne, http: //www. next-gene rat ion, com/

ng alphas

"We're
putting a lot
of effort to
make sure
the player is
always
surprised"

Tony Grant, Director

the world, and explains things like why
there are morphing creatures and
floating platforms."

The game has twenty-four stages,
set in eight distinct areas, from jungles
and temples to more elemental stages
set deep in volcanoes and up in the
clouds. "This is Activision's first
internally-developed PlayStation title,
and it's going well," says Grant, "the
system's easy to work with and has a
lot of great libraries, which we've been
able to modify to suit our needs."

The SerieS iS not entirely
breaking away from its side-scrolling
roots, however. "If you think about
Crash Bandicoot," Grant continues, "it
was extremely linear, and we don't like
that. Mario 64 was really open, but the
structure we've chosen is somewhere in
the middle. We have definite paths, but
they're not as limited as those in Crash.
They branch a lot, but we
wanted to make sure the player
always has a sense of where to
go. And along with the
branching you also have a choice
of different goals — rescue this
person or collect that item."

This approach may seem to
limit the player, but actually
opens up certain creative
possibilities for the designers.
"It's very difficult to create the
kind of lush look we're going
after by purely using polygons,"

Grant says. "It's
tough, if not
impossible to have
jungle trees, vines,
and so on — so we're
mixing 3D with some
2D to fool the player
into thinking there's
more there."

Lighting and
other special effects
have been employed
to give the game
atmosphere. The
volcano level, for
example, is lit from
below with a dull red
glow. Many of the enemies morph out
of the surroundings, and even burrow
up through the ground.

Grant continues, "One thing the
PlayStation does really well is move
that camera around. Since we're not
as open-ended and *go anywhere' as
Mario, we can choose the best angle
for every area, so when you go here
there's a camera tag that brings it in
close, and when you go there it pulls
back. What we've found Is that once
you get away from the over-the-
shoulder perspective, you can get truly
cinematic shots, and this can clue the
player. So when the camera pulls back
and you can see more of the landscape
around you, then by golly more
creatures are going to come
out and attack you."

Many of the creatures in Pitfall 3D morph out
of the surrounding terrain — Just one more
thing for the player to worry about

Says Grant, "Harry is very
much a Han Solo-type of
character. He begins the
game kind of cynical and in
It for himself, but by the
end, he realizes he's a
good guy after air

The emphasis In the
game's character
design Is on
inventing creatures
that are unusual,
yet organic to the
mystic environment
the game is set in

Harry doesn't just run around (jumping over chasms, of course), he has a fairly wide range of
fighting moves as well — not quite as many as Ken or Ryu of course, but he gets by

Ne«t Generation OnUne. http://www.next-generation.com/

nights is here

ever ever, ever, have you been able to fly , fluid and free,
in real-time 3d. not until nlghts.™ the first true showcase
of Sega Saturn's stunning capabilities. The technological
tour de force that has everyone in the gaming world
absolutely spun.

The Story

One of the most immersive, mystical gaming experiences ever,
NiGHTS establishes an entirely new gameplay paradigm. Think of it
as psychodrama, an express escalator into the schizophrenic,
mind-bending virtual world of your dreams.

The World

Created by the renowned Sonic Team, NiGHTS is a full-on 3D masterpiece.
A world with lush dreamscape realities, its own micro-climates, even its own
natural order. imagine. smoke, fog, clouds, rain, and water that appear in multiple
levels of transparency. Waterfalls, currents, wind, and, yes, a tornado
that follow the laws of fluid physics.

The Gameplay

NiGHTS screams along at banshee
replicate the true sensations
morph sequences. its over
that scroll-shift in real time,
of 3d positional sound.

Engineered specifically

speed. Witness its ability to
OF FLIGHT. Its lightning multiple
twenty tracking camera angles
And its omnipresent symphony

TO INTENSIFY THE NiGHTS

EXPERIENCE, SEGA SATURN'S 3D CONTROL PAD ESTABLISHES A NEW
BENCHMARK IN SMOOTH AND DYNAMIC OPERATION.

£7he benediction

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ng alphas

Shivers II: Harvest of Souls

Sierra is back with more hapless teens

Shivers' production design
boasts fine, detailed pre-
rendered scenery

Many of the
clues and
puzzles
appear as
messages in,
of all things,
music videos

he original Shivers
was criticized for
being too much like
Myst. It was slow,
static, and the puzzles
were too puzzling.
Many players found themselves hoping
the idiot teen who snuck into the
abandoned museum would go ahead
and die, simply to get it over with.

Sierra and lead designer Marcia
Bales have taken the lesson of the
original to heart. Although the game
again centers around a teen looking for
lost friends (this time in the oddly
deserted town of Cyclone, Arizona),
Shivers //abandons the static screens
in favor of a sweeping, 360-degree
panoramic view. The storyline has been
worked for nonlinear gameplay and
features three different endings
depending on the choices made. The
production design shows a distinctly
Native American flavor, and the screens
released so far look excellent.

The design, however, seems
somewhat at odds with the game's
promised "driving rock soundtrack."
Indeed, music appears to play a key
role, as many of the clues and puzzles
appear as messages In, of all things,
music videos. The final game will
include five original songs and videos,
all of which contain vital information
within the lyrics Chmm, perhaps Pat
Robertson has it right after all). The
game features directional audio
channels as well, so players can hear
various evil things approaching and
know which direction they're coming
from before they appear.

Next Generation OnUne, http://w\

Format: PC CD-ROM

Publisher: Sierra

Developer: Sierra

Release Date: March '97
Origin: U.S.

Perhaps the most innovative feature
is the integrated Internet chat. While
running the game, players can connect
to their service provider and talk to
other Shivers II players over the net,
exchanging hints and strategies.

If the original remains something
of a disappointment, the sequel would
be doubly so if such promising new
features failed to be matched by an
engaging story and interesting puzzles.
If everything comes together
however, Shivers //can't miss.

A tiger? In Arizona? Still, the artwork in Shivers II stands out for its dark,
brooding, mystical edge and distinctly Native American flavor

ack Of Knuckles To Jaw. The Grotesque Ping Of Pipe
Skull. The Revolting Slice Of Sword Through Flesh.

All Delightfully Expressed

The Compaq Presario 8000 Series isn't

for everyone. It's for that certain breed of multimedia
enthusiast who likes a computer that, well, goes to 11.
After all, the Presario 8000 Series is the most advanced
multimedia home computer line ever made.

For starters, it features JBL Pro Premium speakers
for the same awesome dynamics one enjoys from a home
sound system. Rest assured, when combined with our
Interwave 32-Voice Wavetable Synthesis for brilliant audio
realism, it'll definitely rock your world. And quite possibly,
your neighbors.'

Another cool feature is a Talk & Send 33.6Kbps
modem. Not only does it give you the fastest Internet
accessj it lets you play games and talk with your oppo-
nent at the same time. But perhaps most impressive of
all, the Presario has PowerVR 3D Graphics and 6MB of

By The Compaq Presario.

graphics memory that bring true 3D arcade -quality images
home for the first time ever. Translation: frightening real-
ism and incredibly smooth animation.

The experience is further intensified by a range of
cutting-edge power and performance features. There's
even an innovative gamepad that puts everything in the
palms of your hands. The same ones that are probably
getting a little sweaty right now. For more information,
visit us at www.compaq.com or call 1-800-345-1518.

The Compaq Presario 8000 Series. Not for the faint of heart.

COMPAQ.

Has It Changed Your Life Yet?

For game hints call l-900-933-S0NY(7669). The charge is $0.95 per minute. Callers under the age of 18 must get parental permis-
sion to call. Touch-tone phone is required. Available 24 hours a day/7 days a week. U.S. only. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos

Explosive Multiplayer Action.

Compete as one of
6 Combatants
or 2 Cyborgs.
IPX LAN/Modem,
□eathmatch:
NO LIMITS!

City streets.
Los Angeles Hills.
Interiors/Exteriors.
SkyNet Compounds.
Multiplayer Battlefields.
Single Player Missions.
True 3D SVGA Visuals.

Environment:
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Weaponry: 20+ total.
Heat-seeking missiles.
Motion tracker.
Methods of Destruction:
NO LIMITS

Ground Combat. Rampage
by Jeep.
Aerial assault.
Modes of Combat:
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Revolutionary
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6 2 of freedom.
Control System:
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0 • Website: http://www.bethsoft.Gom

ledia Technology Limited. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

ng alphas

Queen: The Eye

Destination Design leaps into potentially
hazardous waters with a project based around
rockers Queen. Fortunately though, it looks like
it's benefiting from a unique artistic vision

Format: PC

Publisher:

Developer:

Destination

Design

Release Date:

December

Origin:

U.K.

ome i

skeptical of Next
Generation's
argument in this
month's issue that the
worlds of
videogaming and music are coming
together. This title, a Queen-inspired
PC arcade adventure, could quite
easily be presented as "exhibit A."

Queen - The Eye is set in an
apocalyptic future where the world has
collapsed into a brutal global
recession. This weird dystopia is ruled
by a self-replicating bio-technology
called the Eye which is seeking to
eradicate all creative individual
thought from the human race. As,
Dubroc,the game's hero, a player
journeys through five domains and
eventually destroys the Eye. As with
most arcade adventures, the game is
full of cryptic puzzles, traps, and
secrets and includes over thirty
motion-captured, polygon characters.

Surprisingly, Queen - The Eye looks
gorgeous (the music/videogame
crossover has traditionally been
difficult to get right), with some

Die-hard
Queen fans
will certainly
appreciate
the efforts of
Destination
Design

Using some exquisite prerendered backdrops and realtime
polygon characters, Queen looks surprisingly beautiful

astoundingly detailed and atmospheric
pre-rendered backgrounds. The
characters are also remarkable,
featuring real-time facial animation.
Not surprisingly, the influence of Queen
is visible throughout. For example,
each of the five zones — The Arena,
The Works, The Theatre, The Innuendo,
and The Final Domain — is modeled
around imagery and artwork
associated with the band. So album
art often pops up in the background,
tying the game closely with its
inspiration. The five CD-ROM set also
features an hour and a half of Queen's
best known tracks.

As great as it looks, it's debatable
just how many progressive rockers are
buying videogames. Consequently,
Queen - The Eye, will probably need to
prove itself almost indispensable in
order to attract non-Queen fans.
Considering that dance and alternative
acts are becoming the standard for
game soundtracks, there may be quite a
stigma attached to buying a title
featuring music by your mom's favorite
group. On the other hand, the PC does
attract more mature gamers including,
no doubt, a number of cloth-eared
dinosaurs who will revel in Its glam
rock pretensions. For them, this homage
to the ultimate middle-of-the-road band
may be just the ticket. Mercifully, the
artists at Destination Design have
stopped short of including a
motion-captured Brian May. HrS

Next Generation Online, http://www.next-generation.com/

ng alphas

Mr. Tank

Rebellion abandons the dodo-like Jaguar
and turns its attentions to the PC with an
unusual tank game

The long
list of
multiplayer
options
should keep
death match
fans happy

Explosions are often
huge and impressive,
engulfing whole sections
of the arena

Format: PC-CD ROM

Publisher: TBA

Developer: Rebellion

Release Date: TBA

Origin: U.K.

ometimes it pays not
to be too serious.
Micro Machines, for
example, is one of the
most addictive racing
games ever created,
yet it has none of the complexity of,
say, Geoff Crammond's F1GP2. Tank
games, though, are usually taken
seriously by developers. Armored Fist,
Tank Platoon, and M1A2 Abrams are
all serious simulations with real
vehicles and real weapons.

No gap in any market remains for
long, though, and Rebellion,
responsible for Aliens Vs. Predator on
the now moribund Jaguar, is in the
process of developing a light-hearted
tank battle game, curiously named
Mr. Tank. Instead of having to drive

an Abrams across the

Gulf sands, you
choose a fictitious
tank from several
available and drive it
around an arena,
blowing up other
players. There's a
wide selection of
weapons and plenty
of power-ups littered
around. What there
isn't — and this is
typical for a title
early in development
— is a storyline. Paul Topping,
Rebellion's marketing manager, told
Next Generation: "We're considering
a futuristic sports setting. At the
moment, though, we're just working
on gameplay — which is more
important, of course."

In terms of gameplay, then, Mr.
Tank looks like a updated version of
Battle Zone, with the emphasis very

0 v '~ r "^jjj

1311

■ - ■•■

Jit

I Mr Tank's backgrounds are garish, to say the least. It certainly makes
a change from all those Blade Runner-inspired sci-fi settings

much on the multiplayer mode. Owners
of a four-plug joystick interface can
make use of the quad-screen display,
which enables four players to take part
on one PC. Further, the game can
handle up to eight players over a LAN,
either as a team against the computer
or just against each other.

Despite the game's

multiplayer emphasis, there is a single-
player mode: here, you get a set
amount of time to destroy a given
number of computer-controlled tanks.
On later levels, enemies get more

Next Generation OnLlne, http://www.next-generation.com/

ng alphas

In multiplayer mode, players can either form teams to compete against computer-controlled opponents or just gang up on other human competitors. Each
player's tank has a totally different look: these range from the tractor-like (left) to the more H.G. Wells-inspired (right)

Rejecting sim
authenticity
for arcade-
style

gameplay, it
could be the
nineties
answer to
Battle Zone

The novel quad-screen
display enables four
players to participate 01
just one PC

intelligent and harder to track.

Graphically, the designers have
sought to emphasize Mr. Tank's non-
serious arcade feel by painting the
game in a vast array of gaudy colors.
The only arena Next Generation has
seen in detail, provisionally titled "The
Shopping Mall," is a maze of multi-
colored shops and stores, all sporting
beautifully designed names and ads.
This extensive use of primary colors,
plus the abundance of icons, grafitti,
and tawdry humour (unappetizing ads
for things like "Cheesy Beef," for
example, which stress in graphic detail
the complete inedibility of the
product), give the level an interesting
2000AD look, further distancing Mr.
Tank from realistic sims.

Sprites rather than polygons are
used for the backgrounds and vehicles.
This keeps the speed of the game as
fast as possible (again emphasizing
that this is an arcade not a simulation
title), but sprites also enable the use of
more colors, accounting for the
rainbow-esque nature of the settings.

As for speed , the game runs

at over 20 fps on a lowly 486, but this
is in the visually underwhelming low-
res mode. However, players with decent
Pentiums and good graphics cards can
expect a similar performance in hi-res.

Along with The Shopping Mall,
Mr. TankwW include another five to
seven different arenas. Designers are
toying with the idea of a subway
stage, where competitors slug it out in
a futuristic underground transport
system, and a park area with trees
and hills. Suburb, farm, and ghetto
arenas are also planned. Although
these concepts sound strangely

pedestrian, they will no doubt be
exploited for any possible twisted
humor. Anyway, they're a change from
space stations and the cliched dark
sci-fi city setting.

The game's use of cool comic-
book graphics and unusual settings
gives it an Individuality that most PC
titles lack at the moment. Further, the
list of multiplayer options should keep
death match fans happy. However,
Rebellion has a lot of work to do.
Battle Zone was a long time ago, and
modern players expect a little more to
a game than driving around shooting
at things. Not much more, surely, but
just a little. Plentiful power-ups,
traps, and secret areas will probably
be enough to supplement the rather
simplistic gameplay. But no doubt the
Rebellion team has already rv\ji
thought of all that. (T3

For visual diversity, the game includes rural as well as urban settings.
Rural arenas will feature hills and suitably weird foliage

Next Generation OnLlne, http://www.next-generaliori.com/

llfiVl

"IliniilllW

HpTS characters. 29 play levels. riaya'Me PosseOTraDMBfe past
It's not Mortal I'ombat, it's all previous arcade Ml'.' 2 crammed into

MORTAL KDMBAT*

Inc. All rights rese'vel r.'iivsy. Mb flj|

;■■ ■ Games Inc. Used by permission. N
by Nintendo. Licensed by Sow C:~: ■ - :-:z ;o: usr willi iiie PlayStation (jams

names are
and the 3-D "N " logs are
e. PlaySlalian and IhH PlaySfiB

ng alphas

Psychic Force

Taito added to the fighter genre with this
singular arcade title. A decent PlayStation
conversion would guarantee its success

The nocturnal urban backgrounds are very reminiscent of those in AM3's
Last Bronx, but Psychic Force features traditional arenas too

Format: PlayStation

Publisher: Taito

The 360-
degree arena
appears to
be more
than just a
gimmick.
Plenty of
moves
exploit it

Developer: Taito

Release Date: October

Origin: Japan

hen Taito revealed the
arcade version of
Psychic Force at
JAMMA last
February, it turned a
few heads, despite the
unveiling of VF3 at the same event. At
the time, Taito was in serious decline
and the crowds were merely vultures
circling above the potential corpse of a
once-great company. However, Psychic
Force was a distinctly promising 3D
brawler, offering something new:
fighters suspended in the air.

It isn't an entirely new

concept, of course. Sega's Dragon Bali
Z experimented with a similar concept
in 2D, but the 3D Psychic Force
boasts great atmospheric urban
backgrounds and eight new, varied
characters, combining urban themes
with traditional Asian and RPG motifs
— Samurai characters fight winged
warriors and wrestlers, while
backgrounds include misty hills,
pagodas, and skyscrapers.

The 360-degree aspect appears to
be more than a gimmick: there are
moves that exploit the environment.
For example, players can defend with

I The "floating fighters" approach employed in Psychic Force calls for
players to learn a full range of up/down, as well as right/left, moves

the "barrier guard," executed with a
full circle on the joypad, so the player
performs a full backflip.

As tradition dictates, the
PlayStation version comes with extra
options including Training and Street
modes. However, the conversion won't
be judged by new features, but on how
well the console port replicates the
original. If successful, this should be a
worthy PlayStation entry.

At least the new "floating fighters"
approach will require a fresh
repertoire of moves to learn, and for a
long time this rapidly tiring genre has
been desperately calling out for p-vo
a little variation. 11^

OnUne, h It p:// www.next-generation.com/

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ng alphas

Tenka

Psygnosis continues to establish
itself as a game design powerhouse
with its second wave of PlayStation
titles — like this one

Format: PlayStation

Publisher: Psygnosis

Developer: Psygnosis

Release Date: March 1997

Tenka will no doubt look familiar to everyone reading this magazine. However,
important to realize that unlike a certain other first-person shooter for PlayStati
not only is the environment completely polygonal, so are the enemies

Move, shoot, keep
moving, shoot some n
— life is good

ne of the premier titles
in the PlayStation's
second wave, Tenka
(NG 17) is well on its
way to redefining the
state of console 3D
shooters as we know them. Like
Universal's Disruptor (but notably
unlike William's Final Doom), Tenka
presents the player with a completely
3D environment, with walls and floors
that vary from the flat and level or
straight up-and-down.

Like Quake for pc.the

enemies are also completely modeled in
3D. "We have approximately 80 bad
guys per level, ranging from simple
robots and genetic mutations to the
fully animated bionoids," explains
Martin Linklater, Tenka'% head of
production. And they're more than just
a bunch of pretty faces: "We've
incorporated patrolling heuristics and
line of sight calculation in the enemy
AI, and they also respond to noises
made by the player as he moves through
the level. Some enemies will go straight
for the throat, while others are more
elusive, hiding behind walls and timing

Origin: U.K.

their attack. This gives us
flexibility when populating a
level, and keeps gameplay
varied and interesting."

While Tenka's production
design is unique — levels range
from high-tech to medieval
sewer systems — comparisons
to the world's premiere fully
3 D shooter are bound to crop
up. However, Linklater doesn't
appear worried. "I don't think
anyone would argue against Quake
being one of the most groundbreaking
PC games at the moment," he says,
"but you also have to consider that you
need a $3,000 PC to run it with
anything approaching payability. Tenka
runs on a standard Playstation and, we
think, captures the immersive elements
of Quake and adds some
storyline and variation."

"Some
enemies go
straight for
the throat,
while others
hide behind
walls and
time their
attacks"

Just one lonely little guy in this early screen shot, but the final game
should have roving packs of different enemies to blast away

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.next-generation.com/

ng alphas

Ridge Racer Grand Prix

With this latest addition to its classic series,
Namco pushes Ridge Racer to the next level

The Grand
Prix version
will feature
a more
realistic
driving model
than ever
before

fter a flood of racing
games this season,
many of which left the
venerable classic
Ridge Racer far
behind, Namco is
striking back with this upgrade. Ridge
Racer Grand Prix, a working title that
will probably change before its release,
has been redesigned from the ground
up, taking advantage of the ever-
expanding list of PlayStation graphics
libraries and addressing certain faults
of earlier games in the series. As the
title implies, the game's most notable
new feature is the addition of Grand
Prix mode, a circuit of courses set
across Europe.

As players compete on the
circuit, money is earned for
each first-, second-, or third-
place win. Between races,
players can spend the money
to add modifications to their
cars. Although no set list of

The control in
Ridge Racer
came under
some criticism
— the cars
weren't "heavy"
enough, and it
was too easy to
spin out. For
Grand Prix, the
basic controls
should stay the
same, but the
style of driving
will be more
technical and
realistic

Ridge Racer Grand Prix offers a much wider variety of cars, and most
importantly, tracks over previous entries in the series, with circuits set
across Europe in Paris, Germany, and Italy

Format: PlayStation

Publisher: Namco

Developer: Namco

Release Date: Spring '97

(Japan)

Origin: Japan

modifications, or exactly what effect
these will have, was available at press
time, the addition of this feature brings
the Ridge Racer series into the same
semi-sim class as Andrew Racing and
Tokyo Highway Battle — a welcome
direction for this arcade-action series.

The game features a total of 12
cars — eight can be selected by the
player, and four "rival" cars cannot.
However, in the Ridge Racer tradition,
a hidden Easter egg will probably
enable players to control these rivals.
Also, the game will feature a more
realistic driving model than before.

The original Ridge Racer is an
arcade classic, and while the
PlayStation conversion had its
problems, it also has its adherents. Not
content to sit around and wait for the
competition to pass them by, Namco is
pushing the series forward In p-w^
expansive new directions. *A-o

With such a variety,
players can say good-bye
to the Ridge Racer
tradition of one track
with a few extensions

OnUne, http://www.next-generation.coin/

So cool you won t want to
play it alone in the dark."

-PSX

...this is the largest game
world I ve ever seen in an
adventure console game.

— PSExtreme
"The most ambitious
adventure game ever
created awaits."

— Game Fan

dreadful place. Where
trie undead feast on

e living to survive.

Wel come to Crystal
Dynamics Blood
Omen: Legacy of Kam.
Whether you choose
the hody of man, the
form of wolf or the cloak
of mist, the search for
and annihilation of
those who damned you
is your only purpose.

AUTHENTIC

mm SHOULD

Sega Worldwide Soccer '97™.
Forty-eight national teams from around the globe.
Cup tournaments, shoot-outs, and exhibition matches.

Create-a-player and weather options.
Headers, back-heel passes, banana and bicycle kicks.
Killer slide tackles, and plenty of refs to yellow card ya.

ng alphas

Daytona USA

Championship Circuit Edition

Recognizing that its aging Daytona USA conversion fell short of
expectations, Sega appeases fans with a reprogrammed and redesigned
conversion of its supreme racing game

The new 3D engine moves more like Sega Rally and
has less scenery "pop-up" than in the original

Format: Saturn

Publisher: Sega

Developer: Sega AM3
Release Date: November

Origin: Japan

Daytona is still one of
AM2's finest moments.
Hopefully, this new version
will push the Saturn even
further than the original

t's been 18 months
since Sega converted
Daytona USA. While
few could find fault
with its payability and
handling, it doesn't
compare to PlayStation's Ridge Racer.
Finally, Sega has decided to produce
Daytona: Championship Circuit Edition.

Sega stresses that Daytona CCE is
more than a "remix" — the graphics
have been completely overhauled, with
courses, vehicles, and textures
receiving comprehensive redesigns.
Further, these improvements have been
made with no loss of frame rate. Sega
assures Next Generation that Daytona
CCE will run full screen at 30fps.

On top of the visual improvements,
new gameplay elements have been

added. There are two new tracks -
Desert City and National Park
Speedway - and some new cars, but
details about these are currently
unavailable. Players will be able to use
Sega's new analog pad, and there's
also a split-screen mode, which will
finally give fans the two-player option
they've been waiting for.

Improving this classic is bound to
be massively popular with Saturn
owners. Sega needs a title strong
enough to attract new gamers to stand
alongside Vidua Cop 2 and Fighting
Vipers in the continued battle
against PlayStation.

There's now
a split-screen
mode for the
two-player
game we've
all been
waiting for

While Daytona CCFs cars look similar to the original game's, the level
of detail in the backgrounds has increased, as has the visible distance

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.nest-generation.com/

IT'S UN-BOWL-IEVABLE!

CREATE YOUR OWN
SUPER TEAM

Tecmo Super Bowl allows the
user to trade any player, to any
team, at any time. With this
feature you have the ability to
create your own Super Team.
Just be careful when you're
playing a friend. You had better
make sure he didn't set you up.
The only advice we can give is
check your opponent's roster.

LIVE COMMENTARY

Tecmo Super Bowl's announcer
gives true play by play
commentary, not just an
occasional phrase or two. If
perhaps you think he's an idiot,
you always have the option of
turning him off.

TOURNAMENT MODE

Over the years Tecmo Super
Bowl players have let us
know about the friendly
competitions which sometimes
take place. This new version has

a built in tournament mode for
a total of 8 players playing one
on one till one of the players
wins the tournament. Chips and
drinks are sadly not included.

DIFFICULTY LEVELS

Knowing that some people
haven't been playing Tecmo
Super Bowl for years we've
included 3 difficulty settings.
Easy, Normal and Hard. Our
football game gives you the
ability to grow with the game.
Internally we call this a screen
save cause you don't have to
throw a rock through the TV
screen when you get frustrated
with the game.

INSTANT REPLAY

If you want to analyze the last
several seconds of play, simply
pause the game and start the
instant replay. In addition you
can go frame by frame to fully
analyze all of the action. Then
again, you may not want to see

the interception again, and
again, and again, and again.

NEW RECORDS & STATS

Tecmo's stats engine has always
been unsurpassed. This year
we've added the ability to keep
the stats from any player in any
positron even if it's only for 1
play during the entire season.
Here's your one and only chance
to re-write the record book.

NEW PLAYBOOK

From the game play menu, you
now have access to the entire
playbook for the immediate
play. ...for more plays than you
can possibly want, use, call,
send-in, modify, change, and/or
run as the case may be.

VARIABLE WEATHER
CONDITIONS

Ordinary football games
sometimes have weather
conditions. So far as we know,
Tecmo Super Bowl is the only

game to actually change the
weather during the game. So
one minute it could be raining,
and then it could start snowing,
or then again stop or actually
it's too variable to give you all of
the possible scenarios.

MORE, MORE AND MORE

We've tried to highlight some of
the most important new
features of Tecmo Super Bowl
for the Sony PlayStation.
Obviously there are more
features than we can possibly
list. Tecmo Super Bowl is one of
the most realistic and
sophisticated football simulators
ever created. Aside from all of
the technical improvements,
think about the following:

I TECMO* SUPER BOWL™
I SONY™ PLAYSTATION™
I TELEVISION
+ 2 OR MORE PLAYERS

= GREAT FOOTBALL FUN

If you like REAL FOOTBALL WITH REAL PLAYERS you'll LOVE TECMO® SUPER BOWL 7

Visit Tecmo Interactive at: http://www.tecmo.co.jp

Tecmo's Deception answers (There are no correct answers... Welcome to Tecmo's Deception)

PLAYER S I

Where's the sport in that?

Crime is rampant. Jails are overpopulated. The Committee Of Recreational Termination (C.O.R.T.) is hell-bent

ON PUTTING THE SPORT BACK INTO CAPITAL PUNISHMENT. YOU'VE BEEN SENTENCED: DEATH OR DEATHDROME.™

Your one chance for survival and your only hope for freedom. The rules are simple: PLAY OR DIE.

Enter the arena, the DeathDrome, in a futuristic driving machine in the ultimate battle to save your life. Embark on a
lethal combination of open-throttle driving and high-tech weaponry. Shoot and kill your fellow cons fighting for the
same prize to advance to the next arena. Reach your "kill quota" and you taste freedom. If you don't, you die.

" a A 4J * -

. & <lJ£JL* ~~

• 3 PERSPECTIVES INCLUDING FULL 360° VISION • REAL INTELLIGENCE PROGRAMMED BY FORMER U.S. MILITARY SIMULATION TEAM

• Open environments with unrestricted 3-D movement • Vehicle motion utilizes real world physics for an incredibly realistic experience
• Experience deadly arenas like Alcatraz II, Purgatory and The Abyss • Original soundtrack can be played in an audio CD player
• Single/Multi-Player: Up to 8 players on a LAN/Z Players on the PlayStation™game console
• Uses MMX™ technology to bring graphics and speed to the next level

DEXTfl DR£fr|E

Play like your life depends on if it does

Available on: PC CD-ROM & the PlayStation™ game console

ZIPPER

INTERACINE Experience DeathDromeatwww.viacomnewmedia.com

VIACOM

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■ ■

ng alphas

Ecstatica 2

Andrew Spencer Studios uses ellipsoids rather than polygons for all the
graphics in Ecstatica 2. The result is some amazingly life-like characters
(above) and lots of strange 3D "textures" (right). "Triangles tend to make
robot-looking figures," explains Spencer. "Ellipsoids are more human"

Notice how the wall is
made up of ellipsoids,
rather than traditional
polygons. The result is
a more organic look

Andrew Spencer: "Our
aim is to combine high-
quality graphics with
strong gameplay"

nt's ironic that a game
I with the title
Ecstatica 2 should
come out of one of
the sct-uffiest, most
charmless parts of
London: a city positively littered with
scruffy, charmless parts. But here, in
an unfashionable stretch of
fashionable Islington, sandwiched
between two prisons, Is Andrew
Spencer Studios: a highly innovative
development team obviously
completely unperturbed by their less-
than-glamorous surroundings.

Although it's a small set-up

at the moment — with only five in-
house employees — things started even
smaller. Spencer spent years working
single-handedly on the engine behind
the original Ecstatica, and when the
actual game was ready to go into
development, he recruited just one
helper: film animation expert Aiain
Maindron. Together they created what
was at the time a visually stunning and
complex game — an Alone in the Dark-
style arcade adventure with dozens of
locations, dynamic camera angles, and
beautifully animated characters.

Although it has aged somewhat
ungracefully, Ecstatica had one facet

Next Generation meets the London-based
team at Andrew Spencer Studios to find
out the truth about ellipsoids

Format: PC-CD ROM

Publisher: Psygnosis

Developer: Andrew Spencer
Release Date: January '97
Origin: U.K.

that is still notable: its use of ellipsoids
to create characters and backgrounds,
rather than polygons. Polygons are, of
course, constructed from triangles, so
games featuring them always look
angular (unless you use thousands,
Impractical In any game where frame
rate is a concern, or use plenty of
Gouraud shading). Ellipsoids, on the
other hand, are, by definition, circular

Ecstatica 2
boasts a
hero who
can fight with
fists or a
weapon,
as well as
jump, duck,
and dodge

The Andrew Spencer Studios team (from left to right): Neal Petty,
Andrew Spencer, Marcus Wagenfuhr, Ken Doyle, and Dave Lowry

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.neit-generation.com/

ng alphas

The combat system is more
comprehensive in Ecstattea 2 than in
many other PC arcade adventures.
Consequently, fights are more tactical

rather than pointed.

But what are the advantages of
using such a unique method? "It's the
question I always get asked," sighs an
introspective Andrew Spencer. "The
main advantage is the organic-looking
characters. Triangles tend to make
hard, robotic-looking figures, whereas
ellipsoids can be used to create
rounded, human alternatives. Ellipsoids
can also be more efficient because you
can make a much better looking
character out of fewer shapes."

The artists working at Spencer's
studio also point out that ellipsoids
are easier to animate smoothly,
giving characters grace and
deportment missing from their
polygon equivalents.

Because of these benefits, polygons
have been shunned again, and the
whole ellipsoid engine Is now being
Improved for the much more
graphically impressive, hi-res sequel.
Ecstatica 2, like its predecessor, is an
RPG-style arcade adventure. The

Ellipsoids can
be efficient
because you
can make a
good-looking
character out
of fewer
shapes

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©1 996 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Softimage is a registered trademark of Softimage, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary

ng alphas

If you
thought
polygons
were the only
choice for
3D graphics,
think again

object is to kill the demonic sorcerer
and his army who have overtaken your
castle and then free your betrothed
from their satanic clutches.
On the way, you also have to find and
put together pieces of the Elder Sign,
a powerful talisman that has been
smashed by the evil gang.

In terms of genre,the

closest modern reference points are
probably Time Gate and Time
Commando — all three games feature
pre-rendered backgrounds, dramatic
camera angles, and a combination of
adventure gaming and arcade
elements. Like Time Commando,
Ecstatica 2 also boasts a hero who
can fight with fists or a weapon and
jump, duck, and dodge. However, it
looks as though the player in £2 will
have much more flexibility during
combat than in Time Commando.
Holding down Alt or Ctrl in
conjunction with the arrow keys
provides a huge range of defense and

attack moves, whereas in Adeline's
effort, fighting was just a case of
standing there and repeatedly hitting
people — not particularly engaging.

Of course, the innovative use of
ellipsoids for all characters,
backgrounds, and objects also
separates Ecstatica 2 from its

Andrew Spencer Studios
is actually a small office
in a London suburb

ng alphas

Flat world or
round world?

Despite all of Ecstatica Zs
potential problems, Andrew
Spencer Studios is clearly
a team to watch. It's very
rare that in the middle of a
huge videogame movement
(in this case, polygon-
mania), one company
should go off on its own
path and create something
visually at odds with
everything else around.

Although at first
glance Ecstatica 2 doesn't
look that different, it's a
game that has developed in
isolation from current
trends. There's no 3D
Studio, no Softimage, no
FMV — everything you see
onscreen has been
developed in-house. If the
gameplay matches this
individuality and spirit of
innovation, Ecstatica 2
could bring credibility
back to the PC arcade
adventure. It's certainly
been a long time coming...

contemporaries and makes it visually
unique in today's market. It's a
method that has forced the artists to
be much more creative and has given
the title a truly individual balance,
style, and twisted realism. It will come
as a shock to polygon worshippers
everywhere, but ellipsoids are capable
of creating a much greater degree of
3D realism, especially when it comes
to scenery. Much of the action takes
place in a huge castle and instead of
using flat textures with the appearance
of stone for the wall and floor
surfaces, the artists have used small
ellipsoids to create a convincing
cobbled look.

Spencer is cagey about exactly how
ellipsoid graphics are created, but he
refers to his proprietary editor, which
uses fractal algorithms to generate
images. "All the objects are
algorithmic, which means there's a
little bit of programming in each one,"
he explains. "Trees and plants, for
example, are fractals with a bit of
randomness built in and a few rules to
follow. Ferns are told to get lighter
toward the end; plants are told to
develop stalks and then sprout into
flowers. In a sense, the program,
written in C, grows the object rather
than builds it." The resulting foliage is
not only very three-dimensional but
also peculiarly organic and
extraordinarily beautiful. Lifelike and
complex, it's a look that belongs on
the front cover of a Future Sound of
London CD.

Improvements on the original
Ecstatica are not just confined to
graphics. The first game contained
around 80 rooms or locations;

Cinematic camera angles and dramatic animated sequences give Ecstatica
2 plenty of filmic atmosphere. A good example is this image of the hero
getting chucked off a high battlement by two ogres

Forests are filled with beautiful plants and incredibly realistic ferns. The
flowers are randomly generated from a menu of attributes

Ecstatica 2 has nearly a thousand,
some with two or three camera angles,
making for an impressively diverse
range of scenery. Away from the main
castle setting, there are catacombs,
dungeons, gardens, even villages— all
explorable by the player.

There are also around 35
characters, from barbarians and
wizards to ores and giant spiders — all
have specific skills and individual
strengths. Some are difficult to kill but
don't inflict much damage on the
player; others are more lethal but will
die after just two hits. Furthermore,
the differences between the enemies
are not just based on which type they
are. According to Dave Lowry and Ken
Doyle, who designed the characters, no
two individuals have quite the same
stats. It's a pretty sensible attempt to
make the fighting in Ecstatica 2 more
realistic than it has been in many other
PC arcade adventures.

What the team have to get

right is the balance between adventure
and fighting. Little actual gameplay was
on show when Next Generation visited
the design studio, but Spencer promises
to keep the player entertained, which is
necessary if the game Is to succeed:
Adeline discovered with Time
Commando that relying too heavily on
fighting is not a good idea in a game
genre that can't offer the visceral
combat found in Quake or Tekken.
Ecstatica 2 will have more depth than
Time Commando — the adventure
element sounds more complex, and
players can pick up an array of objects,
not just weapons. The team is not
aiming for a totally RPG-like
experience. Hopefully, the gameplay
won't be compromised to please all.

Although the PC is comfortable
with ellipsoid-based system, later
platforms might not be so amenable.
"The PlayStation is going to be
particularly difficult," admits Spencer.
"Ellipsoids and the PlayStation _ N< .
don't really go together." (jL M

Many new ideas for
Ecstatica 2 were no doubt
born during extended
after-hours pool sessions

The original
Ecstatica had
around 80
rooms —
Ecstatica 2
has about a
thousand

Next Generation Online, http://www.nett-generaIion.com/

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ng alphas

Duckman

"If any one
character
talks longer
than a short
sentence,
it's gonna
be funny"

Datren Bartlett, Creative Ditec

Format: PC-CD ROM,

PlayStation

Publisher: Playmates
Developer: The Illusions

Gaming Co.

Release Date: Spring '97
Origin: U.S.

hile point-and-click
graphic adventures
are usually PC titles,
Illusions Gaming, the
developer behind
Scooby Doo Mysteries
for the Genesis and the 32-bit Blazing
Dragons, continues to break the rules,
this time with the risque Duckman.

The "Duckman"TV series walks the
line between the bizarre and angry sides
of humor. In the game, Duckman has
lost his show to a new Super Duckman
and must get it back by solving a series
of puzzles, all with an outlandish style
similar to the program that inspired it.
There is even a scene in which
Duckman crashes the Starship
Enterprise into Paramount Studios.

"Humor is important," says

Darren Bartlett, Illusions's Creative
Director. "If any one character talks
longer than a short sentence, it's gonna
be funny in the true vein of Duckman
— off-beat, non-sequitur,full of sexual
connotations." The development team

USA Network's angry duck prepares to
go interactive, but who will bring his
voice to the game?

Duckman can actually die, but after making
you feel stupid about dying, the game
brings you back to life at the same spot

Duckman has 100 backgrounds, 12,000 frames of animation, hours of
dialogue, and over 20 different musical scores by Tommy Tallerico

spent several days meeting with the TV
show's writers to script out the game's
plot and dialogue. Duckman will use
roughly 15 of the show's pre-existing
characters, with about 20 more created
specifically by Illusions for the game.

Even the interface ties into
Duckman's odd behavior and keeps the
game simple. Either he's curious about
an object and will "look" at it, or he's
angry and going to "use" it in some
fashion. This third iteration of
Illusions's graphic adventure engine
enables production artists to script
directly into the program, giving them
greater hands-on capabilities.

However, occasional production
problems arise. Duckman is voiced by
Jason Alexander, George of "Seinfeld."
Unfortunately, Alexander declined to
voice the game's Duckman lines. "It
hurts his voice /' says Producer Matt
Seymour,"He averages about 150 lines
a show. The game has 800 lines and it
would destroy his voice. But the rest of
the tv cast will voicing their r-wj
respective characters." ^K^rt

At select points, 3D
animation is incorporated
into the show's 2D look

Next Generation OnUne. http://www.next-generation.com/

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Which is exactly what Righteous 3D does. You not only get eye-popping visual effects— smooth
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In fact, Righteous 3D is the first accelerator of its kind that can
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ng alphas

Conquest Earth

o
z

The ever-busy Eidos sets out to conquer
C&C territory with gaseous, morphing aliens

H. G. Wells would be proud
— sure, the alien walkers
are from Jupiter, not Mars,
but look at them go

h, the real-time
wargame. Since the
success of
Westwood's
Command
Conquer and
Blizzard's Warcraft 2, everybody
wants one, and now Eidos has one of
its very own. The gist of the game is
somewhat pedestrian: it turns out
that when NASA dropped the Galileo
probe into the atmosphere of Jupiter
in 1995, it was a rather startling
event to the "Jupitians" who were
living there (Data Design take note:
grammatically speaking, inhabitants
of Jupiter should be referred to as
"Jovians," but we'll let this one
slide). To this race of gaseous beings,
the solid, rigid nature of the probe
was very upsetting, so much so that
they decided to invade Earth and
wipe out its hard-bodied inhabitants.
(Apparently, living in an atmosphere
of electrically charged hydrogen and
sulfur makes one a little touchy.)

But what sets Conquest

Earth apart from the pack is the
amorphous nature of the "Jupitians."
Since they're gaseous in form, they
have no tools and use no technology.
Instead, Jupitians have the ability to
simply morph into a variety of lethal
forms. In addition, groups of these

With fantastic scenery,
Conquest Earth looks to
deliver a beautiful ride

Release Date: Spring '97
Origin: U.K.

gas bags can form together to make
even larger weapons, such as organic
tanks and assault craft. This gives the
game a very different strategic
dimension when played from the alien
side, since any unit can potentially
perform any task.

Of course, as with al I real-time
wargames, there is a plethora of
multiplayer options; you can play
either head to head, or cooperatively
against the computer, as either side.
Also, Conquest is one of the few games
to utilize DirectDraw to produce hi-
color (65,000+ colors), nearly photo-
realistic terrain and units. Battles
affect the landscape, producing
charred trees, craters, and rubble.

Whether or not, in the final
analysis, Conquest Earth can
distinguish itself from the rest of the
C&C wannabes remains to be seen (at
press time, little gameplay was in
place). However, with its morphing
aliens, desperately vicious humans,
and sheer graphic excellence,
Conquest Earth certainly has a p-wj
shot at being a worthy clone. Mrgj

Fighting strategically
advanced aliens isn't easy,
but It makes a good game

Next Generation Online, http://www.next-generation.com/

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Monster 3D" is a trademark of Diamond Multimedia Systems, IncWisual Systems Division. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

ng alphas

Wonder Project J2

Enix brings a uniquely Japanese genre to the N64, but will
it work (or even show up) in the states?

Anime style, bit-
mapped graphics
make-up Josette,
her pet bird, and
most of her
immediate
surroundings.
Josette explains
how to use the
N64 controller (top
left) and if she
disagrees with
choices made by
the player, she
shows a range of
emotions from
happy to enraged
(middle and
bottom left)

Release Date: Winter '97

Origin: Japan

From an
omniscient
viewpoint,
the player
either helps
or hinders
Josette

everal games in which
the main character
works independently
from the player have
been attempted ! Pac-
Man 2, Galapagos),
but few have met with success in the
U.S. But in Japan, everything from sim
aquariums to high-school dating games
have found their way to market.

Enter Enix's Wonder Project J2, a
game In which the player works from
an omniscient viewpoint and can either
help or hinder the learning process of
an android named Josette, a
Pinocchio-like little girl who must save
the world. Much like Mendel, the

artificial life creature of Anark's
Galapagos, Josette initially has zero
knowledge of her environment, and the
player must answer her questions,
teaching her how to use tools and
other objects. Josette also learns by
trial and error and never forgets, so
her behavior grows more complex the
longer you play.

J2 isn't Enix's first foray into this
style, as it expands
upon the design of
the original Project
J, a Super Famicom
title that never saw a
U.S. release. While
it's too early to tell if
this game will find a
U.S. publisher, it's
reassuring to know
that someone out
there is taking unique
new approaches to
gaming within the
budding N64 _ w -
market. LL M

Josette throws the book
at the player — because
she doesn't know what it
is. Will you tell her?

With polygonal sequences in the minority, J2
doesn't demand nearly as much processing
power as other N64 titles like Super Mario 64

Next Generation OnLlne, htto://www. next-generation. com/

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Meridian 59 is ONLY played on
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Visit your favorite retailer or to
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ng alphas

Toshinden 3

PlayStation's 3D fighting dynasty
reaches its eagerly awaited third
generation. Can it still compete?

Only Kayin and Eiji are on view so far. Each sports a polygonal makeover with
enhanced detail (and surely animation). At press time, only these two can be
confirmed, although the final roster may include Sonya, Mondo, and Fo

New tricks and new
effects herald the third-
generation Toshinden

Format: PlayStation

Publisher: TBA

Developer: Takara

Release Date: 1997

: Japan

nlike Capcom (see
Street Fighter EX),
Takara has taken less
than two years to go
from the original
Battle Arena
Toshinden to the third installment in
the series. The first Toshinden was a
dynamic groundbreaker, but while
Toshinden 2 was an improvement,
fighting fans had moved on to the
rapid-fire execution that Tekken 2
brought home. Now that Toshinden 3
is in the works, Takara is looking to
make its own enhancements.

The screenshots provided so far
show new camera and lighting effects,
putting the game's graphics on par with
Tekken 2. The camera work has
undergone some heavy tweaking as well:
characters appear large when fighting
close, and you're less likely to have a

Takara's latest upgrade to the game that helped put the PlayStation on
the map shows an ongoing commitment to graphic excellence, and the
use of updated PlayStation graphics libraries

blocked camera, a problem that
plagued the first two games. Lighting
effects are also being dramatically
improved, with light-sourcing from
special moves now reflecting back onto
the polygonal characters, bringing a
refined look to their flaring bursts.

Mysteriously, little has been said
about enhancements to the fighting.
As 3D brawlers continue to evolve,
Toshinden 3 needs a more elaborate
combo system to stay fresh among
"me too" titles like Iron & Blood .
And it really needs some new moves
to keep an edge on hungry new
contenders like Tobal No. 1. 11 M

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In car view puts you in the driver's seat, near
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©Sierra On-Line Inc. ® and/or ™ designate trademarks of, or licensed to Sierra On-Line. Inc. All rights reserved, papyros and Papyrus logo are trademarks ot Papyrus Design Group. Inc. PlayStation"-' and the PlayStation™ logos are [rademarks of Sony
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(Irates, piranhas, monsters
and mutants. SPOT'S somehow
managed to land himself In a world made of movies. Even
his agent can't help him now. Can you? In the movie-spoof
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Virgin is a registered trademark of Virgin Enterprises, Ltd. Burst is a trademark of Virgin Interactive Entertainment, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

ng alphas

Now Activision has an
entry in the C&C style
realtime wargame genre
— but can Dark Reign
really hope to, well,
command and conquer?

Dark Reign

Format: PC CD-ROM

Publisher: Activision

Developer: Australis

Release Date: January '97

Origin: U.S.

"Hostage
Takers"
brainwash
enemy units
into fanatical
suicide
bombers who
attack the
enemy HQ

Dark Reign's designers have consciously
taken the best elements of other wargames'
interfaces, streamlining them for simplicity

ince the release of
Command & Conquer,
It seems everyone and
their proverbial
cousin is getting Into
the wargame act.
Activision is no exception, and offers
almost unlimited variety as its creative
contribution to the party.

With Dark Reign, Activision hopes
to breathe some needed life into the
genre by introducing a more varied
range of unit types and giving them
vastly different, and sometimes strange,
abilities. Spy units, for example, can
disguise themselves as enemy infantry,
and when within range
of enemy facilities,
"report" on those
facilities to enable the
player to construct
similar units. Scouts can
morph and appear as
part of the terrain, while
11 Hostage Takers"
brainwash enemy units,
turning them into
fanatical suicide
bombers who run back
to the enemy HQ.

Many of the game's
terrains include civilian

Once again, it's
"us" versus the
nebulous "them"
In a high stakes
game of strategy
and much blowing
up of stuff. War Is
Hell, but

wargames are as
fun as it gets

structures and units, and these
(depending on which side the player
chooses) may have to be shielded from
harm. In all, there are over fifty
different unit and structure types.

The terrain also plays a role. Dark
Reign features varying terrain height,
and line of sight is computed
realistically, so units on top of a cliff
can't see units hugging the cliff wall
below. But what is perhaps Dark
Reign's most exciting extra is the
inclusion of the programmers's map
editor. This map feature enables players
to design their own maps and, in
theory, ups the replay value immensely,
as players can generate their own
original missions.

Activision is to be commended for
attempting such an ambitious expansion
of an established genre. If everything
fits together as planned, it could
very well take the hill. iJUj

Next Generation OnUne. littp: //www. next-gene rat ion.com/

ng alphas

Broken

Konami's latest first-person shooter takes
a familiar genre into an increasingly
familiar setting. But will any gameplay
innovation join the trip to Area 51?

Helix

Quick FMA (Full Motion
Animation) sequences
punctuate snappy dialogue
between missions (left). The
player must question a
number of characters during
the game, Including this
thinly veiled spoof of
Schwarzenegger named
"Black Dawn" (right). When
angered, Jake refers to him
as "Franken-kook"

Release Date: January '97
Origin: U.S.

An enemy meets a painful demise (top).
"Don't wet your pants," Burton spouts while
questioning a squeamish scientist (above)

n first look, Broken
Helix appears to be
merely next in the
ever-growing list of
3D shooters. But
while the game may
not push any graphical barriers, it
looks to make up for it with comical
dialogue and some unique gameplay as
the player assumes
the role of wise
crackin' Army bomb
squad specialist,
Jake Burton, sent to
diffuse bombs inside
the secret military
base Area 51.

The early version
of the game
available at press
time offers a 30
world sparsely
populated by blocky
characters. However,

there's still plenty to be added,
and Konaml is fully aware that the
engine needs tuning. However, many
features already in Broken Helix
don't need fixing.

In an inspired bit of

casting, actor Bruce Campbell (Army
of Darkness, Evil Dead /and II)
provides the voice of Burton. As
Burton, the player can toggle between
two conversation modes: either a
calm, inquisitive smart-ass or a
threatening, razor-tongued, smart-ass.

There are interesting gameplay
elements as well. Most 3D games have
players running and gunning for their
lives, but Broken Helix adds a "sneak"
mode, enabling players to crawl to
avoid security cameras and maneuver
through tight spaces like air ducts.

Ultimately, Broken Helix may not
sport much that's new, but it's
already a bunch of fun. Utjj

The heads-up map makes
navigation easy without
missing any action

Be a calm,
inquisitive
smart-ass or
a razor-
tongued,
threatening
smart-ass

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.next-generBtlon.com/

ng alphas

Independence Day

ID4 was a sci-fi success at the box
office. But can Fox Interactive's
game of the movie do the business?

The action takes place in the skies over some of the most famous cities
on Earth, as giant alien spacecraft hover overhead. The question remains
though: shouldn't you hold off and just let them take France?

t was inevitable that
when Independence
Day became a big hit
this summer, someone
would jump on it. So
now Fox Interactive
invites players to take the role of the
fighter pilot (loosely based on the Will
Smith character) who leads the charge
against the giant spacecraft hovering
over the world's major cities. From
either a cockpit or chase-view, players
must complete several objectives

before destroying alien ships over 13
levels, set around the world.

According to Fox Producer
Michael Arkin, the game will have an
"arcade feel," complete with power-
ups like shields. The player flies eight
different fighter planes, including an
F-16, a MiG-31, and even an Alien
fighter with which to attack the
Mothership in the last stage.

Graphically, the world is

completely 3D. Each city, the player's
fighter, and all the enemy fighters are
polygonally built. "Most first-
generation, aerial combat games on
PlayStation featured a few mountains,
or maybe a flat-mapped city with a
small cluster of polygonal buildings,"
says Arkin. "But our cities are more
realistic. We've got real landmarks like
the Sears Tower — you'll even have to
fly between large buildings."

Fox Interactive's film-based games
have had their ups and downs, with the
miserable Pagemaster and the
enjoyable Die Hard Trilogy. Hopefully
ft? will be more like the latter, because
— personally speaking — after the
Atari 2600 debacle, we're still p%4
waiting to kick E.T.'s ass. Hjj

"It's the
only game I
know of
where you'll
have to fly
between
large
buildings"

Michael Arfdn Product

Next Generation OnLine, Fittp://www.next-generatian.corri/

An alien conspiracy

A bizarre

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A deadly trap with only one
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ng alphas

Odd World Inhabitants:

Add 32-bit power to the pre-rendered sprites and backgrounds of
Donkey Kong Country, and you have an Idea of how sharp Episode I
looks and how smoothly the characters are animated. Abe (above) Is
followed by the Elum, a camel-like beast he rides (right)

o i) i) 1 1) n i)

1 5 3 J 5 ! 1 3 J T 5

Episode I

Even though it's not 3D, a new reworking
of the Flashback genre may turn out to be
an innovative 32-bit gaming experience

Founded in 1994, OddWorld
Inhabitants is now a 25-
person development house
In San Luis Obispo, CA

t was one of the
most impressive
console games
shown behind
closed doors at
E3. It was reason
alone to understand why over half of
Acclaim's former Public Relations
staff were now demoing products as
employees of GT Interactive. It was
initially called '"'Sou I Storm," and if it
lives up to half of its potential,
PlayStation owners will spend next
year asking, "Crash who?"

Oddworld Inhabitants was co-
founded in 1994 by Lome Lanning,
President, and Sherry McKenna,
C.E.O. Lanning's father was an
engineer for Colecovision, quite
possibly making him the first "second-
generation" game developer. He and
McKenna were both enjoying lucrative
careers as special effects/computer
animators, until Lanning convinced
McKenna that the new 32-bit
machines had the potential to take
gameplay and graphics to new depths.

"Most important to us was
creating new types of play mechanics
with a conceptual story you get
attached to," Lanning says. "Our
minimal specs are the Saturn and

Format: PlayStation,

PC CD-ROM

Publisher: GT Interactive
Developer: OddWorld

Inhabitants

Release Date: Summer '97
Origin: U.S.

PlayStation." And so work began on
their first game, based on Lanning's
five-part story set on an alien planet.

Episode I drops the player in an
alien world in the role of Abe, a
member of a slave-race who works in
a meat-packing plant. Accidentally,
Abe discovers his masters are using
his race as foodstuff, and so his eight-
level adventure begins.

The game's design is

primarily side-scrolling frames
similar to FlashBack, with 110
screens in the first level. But don't let
the comparison mislead you. "The
most important thing to us is

"Most

important to
us was
creating new
types of play
mechanics
with a
conceptual
story you get
attached to"

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.next-generation.com/

One of the new features
Episode 1 will bring to the
genre Is the use of voices,
sounds, and conversations

gameplay. There are a
lot of situations in
this game that are
lifelike, and that's
where it's very
different," Lanning
says. "You're going to
have to understand
the characters'
personalities and
behaviors, not just the deadly
mechanics. Understanding the
characters is how you're going to get
farther along in the world."

The characters are extremely
lifelike, as Abe can tip-toe by sleeping
enemies, and he has a "chant" power
that enables him to take possession of
the mind's of enemy characters. The
player's control then actually shifts
from Abe to the enemy, and the player
can use that enemy to destroy others.

Another new feature

Oddworld introduces is a language
element Lanning calls "gamespeak,"
which he says is partially inspired by
the audio puzzles of Loom, a classic
LucasArts PC title. During the course
of the game, the player learns to
interact with other characters by
giving or responding to voice cues.
Using the directional pad, Abe can
issue one of eight simple commands
like "Wait Here" and "Follow Me."

It's hard to believe anything this
innovative has been kept under wraps
for so long, but as Lanning explains it,
"There's a reason no one's read about
Oddworld yet. We wanted to have
something to show before we started
talking, to prove what we're
playing with is real." 4_H

Old games leave you
feeling flat? Jump into
true 3-D adventure
with Floating Runner -

just look before you leap!

1 14 breathtaking 3-D levels

j 2 characters & 7 different worlds
to choose from

Unique special weapons & items

Next Generation Online, http://www.next-generation.com/

Jus t a plays with >rt

0**

Li*,

DYNAMICS^

ng alphas

Wayne Gretsky's 3D Hockey

Atari's arcade sister is finally showing its
colors with Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey

Format: Arcade

HIWYOKK

Gretsky's 3D Hockey boasts a full roster of NHL teams and players, right
down to updated stats and the correct numbers on the jerseys

ooking at what Atari
Games will bring into
the arcades over the
next year, one could
honestly say the
company is making a
comeback. Considering the places it's
been, and the changes it's seen (the
most recent alteration was its
acquisition by WIlliams-Bally/Midway
from Time Warner Interactive) it's
relatively surprising that a small band
of staffers have done this well with the
few products they've released and the
mediocre support they've received
from what was Time Warner.

Take, for
example, Primal
Rage. Although
only a three-star
game in our book,
and less and less

Publisher: Atari Games
Developer: Atari Games
Release Date: December
Origin: U.S.

interesting as it made its way to other
formats, the game was a huge
commercial success, and the
cornerstone title for the company as it
began evolving into a smart, cool game
maker with its finger on (or at least
near) the pulse of the arcade audience.
Following Primal Rage was Hoop It
Up, a simple, enthralling basketball
redemption game. Then came Area 51,
the surprise arcade hit of the year, and
now a PC port and soon to be released
on PlayStation. Area 51 was such a
big hit that it all but stole the spotlight
from Sega's Virtua Cop II, which
appeared in the arcades at relatively
the same time. Wayne Gretzky's 3D
Hockey, due in the arcades as we go to
press, will be followed by at least three
new promising games, and the 3D
hockey game will see a near-
simultaneous release with a slightly
modified home version on Nintendo 64.

The four-player hockey

game offers much of the cartoonish

"We used
Wayne as our
model for
skating
movement,
videotaping
his motions
from several
different
viewpoints"

Robert Daly Producer

The action is fast and has a real hockey feel —
even more Impressive for providing both an arcade
mode and a more demanding simulation mode

NEW YORK
CHICAGO

GRMIKY M

<VF •••HIM

Wmr;- »»

KURHl 17

Next Generation 0

ng alphas

While playing in the arcade mode, the puck leaves a nice streak for the
players to follow, remlnftoent of the Fox Traek — very slick

feel popular with many other Midway
games: flaming pucks, big-headed
players, hidden characters, and swlss
cheese goalies, to name a few, But this
signifies Atari's learning curve in
making successful arcade games (in
the last two years) as much as It
shows Midway's Influences. But what
separates this game from, say,
Midway's own Open Ice Hockey, Is Its
attempt at being a solid simulation as
well as a good arcade game. In fact,
Gretzky actually has four modes of
play; Player-selectable Mode (best for
tournaments), Simulation (which
features lower scoring and tougher
defense), Pro-sim (a mix of the two),
and Two-on-Two Mode. This strategy
could prove valuable for Atari because,
like soccer, hockey Is at best a
demographlcally regional game, and
offering the slm and arcade modes
should give the game more than a
fighting chance at pleasing hockey
fans of every stripe. Add to this list
both NHL and NHLPA licenses, all 26
NHL teams, and 260 of the best
players, and things start adding up,

It's unusual , however, for

games to sit on the sim-arcade fence
and be any good at all, but there's
some proof In the pudding here. Next

Generation editors played the game at
AMOA (Amusement and Music
Operators' Association) and the N64
version In the offices and were greatly
Impressed at the game's payability.
Two levels of cup play (the Stanley
Cup and the Van Elderan Cup —
named after the company's president)
and a total of 59 opponents are almost
sure to provide gamers with long-term
appeal, In addition to standard moves
such as passing, shooting, and scoring,
players can check, trip, perform diving
blocks, and certainly the best part of
any hockey game, they can fight with
grab punches and uppereuts,

Visually, much attention has been
paid to detail, Producer Robert Daly
explains, "We used Wayne as our
model for skating movements,
videotaping his motions from several
different viewpoints, In the lab, we
built a 3D model that we animated to
follow his skating exaetly, So, even
though the players are made up of
thousands of textured polygons, they
move very fluldly." Built around 30fx's
Voodoo Graphics chipset, the game
engine theoretically can handle real-
time frame rates upward of one million
texture-mapped triangles per second.
Even in the early version we saw, the
result Is very smooth, seamless
character animation and quick-
reacting players.

Finally, with 42 hidden characters
and personalized input codes (so
players can check their standings and
statistics), Atari Games has done
Its homework and done it well,
Hockey fans may be In for a
real hat trick, and Atari Games
may be back in the zone.

"Even though
the players
are made up
of thousands
of polygons,
they move
very fluidly"

Atari Games is the only surviving remnant of the once proud
Atari label. It Is somewhat Ironic In that it was the division sold
off years ago as an unprofitable venture (see page 97)

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.next-generation.CDm/

Actual IBM screens shown

Pre- :
exp

new obsession!

repsre ro
experience vein

Announcing TTie Elder Scrolls:
Daggerfall, Bethesda's latest installment
in the Elder Scrolls Series and the sequel
to the award-winning TES:Arena.

TES: Daggerfall is one of the most
ambitious computer games ever devised.
This is no dungeon hack, no bit of fluff
with medieval trappings. Daggerfall's
world is twice the size of Great Britain,
filled with people, adventures, and
scenery as real as reality. This is a world
designed to allow you to play the game
any way you want. Be the Hero or the
Villain... or anything in between.

TES: Daggerfall is all your favorite
movies and books wrapped up in one
package — with hundreds and hundreds
of hours of playtime. Prepare to expert- "
ence your new obsession.

6aJ Jo=j,
do*'t cart (
tl>at (pell!

1370 Piccarri Drive, Suite 120, Rockville, MD 20850 • BBS: 301 990-7552 • Fax: 301 926-8010 • Website: http://www.bethsoft.com

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eporting for duty on the
PlayStation game console;

Ifisrt us on the
world wide web:
www.ssionline.com

PANZER GENERAL took the gaming world by storm, i
It established an entirely new game category,

prompting Computer Gaming *— I _
World to call it, "...such fun that Playstation i
■r^^^^^r even non-wargamers are likely to
BM^^^-^ find themselves hooked. "
^>^L Now, prepare to become an ALLIED GENERAL.

Volume II in SSI's premier 5-Star Series has you
S^B^v^m ^ m ' ls s 'S nts — and this time the battlefield is the
^frfM^ state-of-the-art PlayStation game console!
?^JjJ 1^ Like its award-winning predecessor, success

depends on your effectiveness as a leader.
Jm ^^^^^ Play 3 campaign games as an American,
^^^k British or Russian General against the
German army. Or choose over 35 sce-
narios that let you play as either the Allied or
Axis side. Watch your forces grow with each victory.
Use new troop types such as Finnish ski troops. Engage in a
little conjecture: several what-if scenarios include Churchill's
never-realized invasion of Norway — Operation Jupiter.
With so many choices, your abilities

will be tested as never before! All of ■ , , ,

this and more await your challenge.

Welcome to the next generation „ .,,""**-

of strategy gaming! ,= A

ALLIED GENERAL.

The excellence continues.

7b Order: call 1-800-601-PLAY with Visa/MC
(North America only).

ALLIED GENERAL and PANZER GENERAL

ng alphas

Dual Heroes

Given that the N64 is such a 3D powerhouse, one would think there would
be dozens of 3D fighting games — so why is Dual Heroes the only one?

Players
can expect
different
fighting
strategies,
depending on
which virtual
opponent
the player
chooses

Format: Nintendo 64

Publisher: Hudson Soft

Developer: Hudson Soft

Release Date: TBA (Japan)

Origin: Japan

Then again, poor old Gai looks like he's
pining for a morphing mutant to pick on

hiie Killer Instinct
and Mortal Kombat
Trilogy have come to
Nintendo 64, they
seem a sad waste of
the system's much
vaunted polygon power. Indeed, they
beg the question: where are all the
N64 3D fighting games?

Well, we found one — Dual Heroes,
in development at Hudson Soft in
Japan. The game is still very early in its
production cycle (estimates place the
game at 15% to 20%
complete), with only two
fighters in place: Gai, in red,
and Zen, in blue. Eventually
the game is planned for a
total of eight characters;
however, this belies the
game's most innovative
feature, the "virtual gamer."

Instead of merely
providing a single AI for
each computer-controlled
fighter, the designers at
Hudson Soft, led by

It's the first announced 3D fighting
game for Nintendo 64, but don't hold
your breath — it's a long way off

producer Keta Hamamiya, have opted
to invent several AI opponents to
"control" the characters during a one-
player game. If all goes according to
the plans of the design team, the
experience will be closer to competing
against human players on a linked
cabinet than competing against a CPU.
Through this method, the player can
expect several different levels of
challenge and fighting strategies from
each character, depending on which
virtual opponent the player chooses to
fight against. This would set the game
apart from most fighting games, in
which each character has one set of
strengths and weaknesses.

Due out by spring or early summer
of '97, Dual Heroes could make its
mark by simply being the first 3D
brawler for the system (although an
N64 version of Williams's War Gods
is rumored to be in the works).
However, it's clear the designers have
opted to not simply release any old
product, but push the technical
envelope as well.

Dual Heroes Is so far
from completion, even
we don't know what
these moves signify

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.next-generation.Gom/

Are you smart enough to pass the Tecmo's Deception Examination?

You have been wrongly convicted of murdering your father and are about to be burned at the
stake. By the power of darkness you have been delivered from your death. How far are you
willing to go to save you life?

1. Who are you going to trap and kill? pvi? I *. i I Z i

a) All of the intruders.

b) Some of the intruders. » »

c) Just the intruders you don't like. - r ^ 'iLi

d) Just the intruders who piss you off (like Yurias).

e) Most of the above. I i * 1

2. How are you going to trap and kill the intruders?

a) Spike them from the wall.

b) Crush them with the Stomp.

c) Zap them with the Volt Cage.

d) Use Mind Kill.

e) Most of the above.

3- What are you seeking? ^ 1

a) Revenge.

b) Vengeance.

c) Redemption.

d) Acquittal. tan

e) All of the above. ^1"™' seekGr

fA- ♦ |WTke I (> - 1

Hstar tc :
~elcome.

revenge seekers.

3. Are you really... - ' 1

a) A good guy. ^

b) A bad guy. *

c) A victim of circumstance. _ li~ I": ,

d) A wimp.

e) All of the above.

[ rccyo i deception is not eoti the light hejiiteo

For the answers see the Temco Super Bowl ad in this same magazine. ^^^'LSS,^\ZS™J

If you haven't played Tecmo's Deception, you haven't DIED yet!

© Tecmo, Ltd. 1996 TECMO"' is a registered trademark of Tecmo, Inc. Licensed by Sony Computer Entertainment America for use with the PlayStation game console. PlayStation
and the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Soflware Association.
THIS SOFTWARE IS COMPATIBLE WITH PLAYSTATION GAME CONSOLES WITH THE NTSC U/C DESIGNATION.

Tecmo, Inc. • 19260 South Van Ness Avenue, Torrance, CA 90501 Phone (310) 787-2900

m(Eefn<3

Visit Tecmo Interactive at: http://www.tecmo.co.jp

Back Issues

All the true gamers have back issues of Next Generation. A videogame aficionado's library
needs ail of 'em. How many do you have?

NG 1 • 3D0's Trip Hawkins
interviewed • A comprehensive look
at all the next generation systems •
The Violence Tapes: Four of the
world's most controversial game
developers in one virtual room

NG 2 • Shigeru Miyamoto (creator of
Mario) interviewed • Saturn: The
complete story so far* Gaming on
the information superhighway (aka
"Joyriding") • Revival of the Fittest:
Why is retro gaming so big?

NG 3 • Sega's Tom Kalinske quizzed

• Does PlayStation live up to the
hype? • What's wrong with the PC?
(part one) • Game music feature

NG 4 • Nolan Bushnell (the founder
of Atari) interviewed • Atari: from
boom to bust, boom again (and then
bust again) • Gumpei Yokoi (inventor
of Virtual Boy) quizzed • What's
wrong with the PC? (part two)

NG 5 • Sony's Steve Race
interviewed • Nintendo 64: The
Story So Far • Apple: The Ripe Stuff.
The story behind Apple's new
"game" machine, the Pippin

NG 6 • Peter Molyneux (Bullfrog's
leader) talks gameplay • M2: 3D0
bites back? • PlayStation's
Disciples: How PS-X games are made

NG 7 • Sam Tramiel: Atari talks back

• 3D0: Past, Present, and Future.
What has 3D0 achieved so far, and
what is its future? • Electronic
Entertainment Exposition (E 3 ) — the
definitive 1995 show report

NG 8 • Howard Lincoln: Why the hell
has Nintendo delayed Ultra 64? •
Sega Saturn: What the TV

commercials don't tell you •
Japanese RPGs: coming to a game
machine near you

NG 9 • So which 32-bit system is EA
on? An interview with EA's Bing
Gordon • Reality Check: The Future
of Virtual Reality • Saturn: Sega's
battle plan to attract developers

NG 10 • Is this the end of FMV as

we know it? An interview with Digital
Pictures' Tom Zito • Feature: Do
videogames screw you up? • Motion
Capture: A report on the latest game
development technology

NG 11 • Yu Suzuki, head of Sega's
AM2 arcade division explains how he
makes the best arcade games in the
world • The Top 75 movers 'n'
shakers in the gaming industry: who
really wields the power? • Mind
Games: the rise and rise of artificial
intelligence in computer games

NG 12 • Chris Crawford —
videogaming's self-proclaimed
"Prophet in the Desert" interviewed
• Head to head: each and every
games machine rated and compared

NG 13 • Sega of America's President
Tom Kalinske explains why Saturn
can still win the war • 1995: the
year videogames changed forever

NG 14 • Silicon Graphics' George
Zachary explains what's under
Nintendo 64's hood • The world of
Videogame Marketing: How Sega and
Sony try to get into your brain

NG 15 • Sony's Marty Homlish talks
about his 15 minutes • The Next
Generation Lexicon: a dictionary of
gaming terms, from A to Z

NG 16 • An interview with the most
famous Western game developer,
Dave Perry • Plus, How to get a job
in the game industry

NG 17 • So Howard, what's the
excuse this time? Why Nintendo 64's
delayed. Again • Future Joysticks —
how force feedback will change the
way you experience videogames

NG 18 • World exclusive: Bill Gates
talks about Microsoft, games, and
the rise of the PC • What's
Microsoft's game? • DVD: Friend or
Foe to the game player?

NG 19 • Brian Moriarty on how
online, multiplayer games could help
you get laid. • Online Gaming:
What's the real future of this hot
new genre? • Nights — the making
of Yuji Naka's 32-bit masterpiece

NG 20 • Nintendo, Sega, and Sony
all under one roof • Is Super Mario
64 any good? • Nintendo 64: 20
reasons why it could fail

NG 21 • The top 100 video and
computer games of all time (it's the
most controversial feature we've
ever done) • Interview with Williams'
Eugene Jarvis on retro gaming

NG 22 • 3D0's Trip Hawkins — he's
back, and claims that 32-bit is dead
• Can Apple compete with the big
guns? • Venture capital feature

NG 23 • 300 pages! ■ Will the real
boss of Sony please step forward?
An interview with Mr. Teruhisa
Tokunaka • Sega Touring Car
Championship revealed • Artificial
Life feature — how a new generation
of gameplay is evolving

Next Generation Back Issues ,u.s. only)

Back issues NG 2 through NG 23 are $4.99 + $1.50 delivery per issue. • Back issue NG 1, the Premier Issue, is $7.99 + $1.50 delivery.
Please Mail Check to: Imagine Pub., Inc. • Back Issue Dept N896 ■ 150 North Hill Drive ■ Brisbane • CA 94005

Table of Contents

_Why TEN?.

An overview of the TEN features that make it stand out

B Smashing Technical Hurdles.

TEN has overcome great obstacles to bring you excellent gaming

.Confirmed Kill.

Jump into a classic warplane and fighf for your liff

.Shadow Warrior-

There's plenty of blood and gore in 3D Realms'
follow-up to Duke Nukem 3D

. AD&D Dark Sun: Crimson Sands

This online AD&D game offers a compelling persistant environment

.Other Games on TEN.

B3S

Duke Nukem 3D, Command & Conquer, Worcroft, and more..

.An Hour in the Life of Three TEN Users.

See how some typical TEN members use the service

Welcome to the Wort
of Online Gaming

There's more and more talk lately about multiplayer gam-
ing. So what's the big deal? Well, just ask anyone
who's ever actually played a multiplayer game, and
they'll tell you. Playing a human opponent adds a whole new
level to gaming. Instead of computer Al, — which, lets face it
most of us can learn to defeat in a few hours, human opponents
are always unpredictable — learning our tricks, developing a
few of their own, or just doing capricious things. The bottom
line is that human opponents keep games interesting. And of
course, it's more satisfying to blow away a friend in a gome
than to kill a computer-controlled sprite!

In fact, most of the hottest PC games over the past few
years — from Doom to Duke Nukem 3D and QUAKE — have
had a multiplayer component. That's what keeps the gomes
fresh and keeps us ploying. Great. Multiplayer gaming is excel-
lent and it's here to stay. So what's the problem?

The problem is that most gomers don't have access to any-
place to actually ploy multiplayer games. To play most multi-
player games, you need access to a Local Area Network, or
LAN. Of course, there aren't that many houses that have LANs
in them. So most people have to play at school (where bring-
ing anything so foreign as a game into the lab is usually
frowned upon), or work, where playing games is generally filed
under "career limiting actions."

Actually, work is where most multiplayer games end up
being played. In fact, it's been theorized by some computer
industry insiders that many employees artificially inflate their sys-
tem requirements and needs simply to get a Pentium powerful
enough to play Duke and other multiplayer games. But few peo-
ple really want to play games at work. Despite the convenient
excuse of "working late" to o long-suffering spouse after a
marathon Command and Conquer session, most of us would

mm wk

311

rather play games where we're comfortable — at home.

Enter the Internet. Although some games have long had
modem play options, the Internet now offers the ability to play
the hottest and fastest multiplayer games online, against people
from all over the country.

The Total Entertainment Network, or TEN, the premiere
online gaming service, has ended its rigorous beta-testing
process and is open to the public. Over the next 1 3 pages,
we'll show exactly what TEN offers in terms of features, exclu-
sive games, and other content. We'll also show how TEN is
solving the technological problems that stand in the way of
online, multiplayer goming, and give you step-by-step instruc-
tions on how to log on. You may encounter some terms you're
unfamiliar with when reading this supplement. That's why, start-
ing on page 1 0, we've provided a glossary of terms.

Online, multiplayer gaming offers a depth of experience
that can be found nowhere else. It's going to take you places
i and offer play experiences you've never had before. So read
on, then get ready to log on and have the time of your life.

TEN. It's the future of gaming.

Command & Conquer

% mm:,

mega follow-up to Doom will be on TEN, of course.

One of the all-time greats, Westwood's Command &
Conquer requires fast thinking and creative strategy.

Before you start playing a game, there is plenty of time to chat
and find the perfect victims — er... — opponents.

Why TEN?

Online, multiplayer gaming is clearly the future of the
PC game world- The question is, how do you
choose which service to go with? After all, they all
promise the ability to play games with others over the Internet. In
the end it comes down to two things: features and experience.

Experience

Experience? Isn't this a new field? How could anyone possibly
have experience in the world of online, multiplayer gaming? TEN
does. Daniel Goldman, chairman of the Total Entertainment
Network, has been programming computers for 23 years —
since he was seven years old. "I made games on the
Commodore PET, HP Calculators, old telelype machines —
everything," But Lots of people hove game experience. What
we're talking about is online, multiplayer games. "For us, the
online portion started in 1983, on the Apple II. We wrote our
own BBS, started working on online games and it just progressed
from there." This was Planet Optigon, a multiplayer games BBS
and the direct predecessor, along with the Mac-based Outland,
of the Total Entertainment Network.

Along the way, Goldman and the rest of the TEN team

Here's a rundown on tr
service itself — some gc
higher system requirem
Bandwidth will let you
weak to play a game.

486/66DX2
Windows 95
8 MB

1 4.4 kbaud
2x

I most do) have
Try, Mr.
ystem is too

RECOMMENDED

Pentium 90 or better

Windows 95

16 MB

28.8 kbaud

learned what worked, and what didn't. "We looked at the dif-
ferent psychological archetypes that exist, and how you get peo-
ple really engaged in something and give them a lot of control.
Finally, we realized that you need an entire service in order to
technologically really support o compelling gaming experience,
because the other online services, AOL, Prodigy, and
CompuServe just are not set up to deal with realtime games."

And that was the genesis of TEN as an independent online
gaming service. What it means to gamers is that the entire effort
of the TEN staff is devoted solely to games. "If you're AOL or
Microsoft, games are one thing you do," says Goldman. "But for
us, creating the service is the most important thing. The entire ser-
vice, from the editorial, to the technology, to the front end is
geared toward creating an exciting place for gamers to hang
out and have fun." That kind of dedication has led the TEN team
to come up with an unbeatable feature set for TEN.

Features

The important thing to remember about the TEN feature set is that
it has been devised by gamers for gamers. All the issues that
other gaming services are just starting to encounter were found

/V/

m Accolade's empire building masterpiece, Deadlock offers a ^ One of the most popular PC games in years, Dufte Nukem fc^^
^ high level of graphic and strategic sophistication. ^ 3D from 3D Realms has action fans in a frenzy on TEN.

Dart. Sun Online
Deadlock

DuMa Nuksm Retail
Duke Nukem ShaieWare
Necrodome
Panzer General

ConTENts:

— and solved — ■ by the Planet Optigon
and Outland teams years ago. That means
that "out of the box," TEN will offer a for
more compelling experience to both hard-
core and casual gamers alike.

One feature that separates TEN from
the pack is the company's policy of obtain-
ing exclusive rights to hot games. On the
one hand, this makes sense in a business
sense for TEN, bu! it offers gamers a big
advantage, too. Not only will you know
exactly where to find other fans of the
game, but incorporated into the interface
of TEN-exclusive titles will be a way to
seamlessly log onto the TEN service. And
if you're not currently a subscriber, you'll even be able to join,
since the TEN software will be included on the CD. In fact, if
you bought the full retail version of Duke Nukem 3D, you've
already experienced this, since the TEN software is included on
the CD. By offering exclusive titles, TEN also ensures full coop-
eration of the publisher, meaning that not only will many TEN
exclusive titles be optimized to work even better with the ser-
vice, TEN will be able to offer more complete support material
surrounding the game.

That's another TEN feature. When you join TEN you don't
simply log on, play games, and log off (although, of course, if
that's your style, you con). There is an entire web area devoted
to providing support material for each game, in the form of
innovative "Dataspheres." Here, you can find tips and tricks for
playing, download software patches, shareware, and demos,
communicate with other gamers, and more. It really is a one-
stop shopping for fans of a game. Soon, TEN will also support
newsgroups for discussion of TEN issues.

What if you don't have web access, or even Internet access
at all? Does that mean you can't access TEN? Not at all. TEN,
through an agreement with Concentric Network Corporation, a
nationwide ISP, provides nationwide dial-up numbers for the ser-

... News@TEN (September 16. 1996)
Thursday Night's Dogpile on TEN-Update #1
... Game Wire (September 5. 1996)

Necrodome Rips Through TEN
Playing Command & Conquer on TEN
... Ask Mr. B (September 12. 1996)

How Do I Effectively Use Zones?

New^wTEN is for late-breaking updates,
while Gamelllre keeps you up to date on new
games and the like. Ask Air. B is a hints and
tips column to improve the TEN experience.

(Scroll dow n for some- in-cognitive thoughts...)

How

HJH

connect

TEN is fully integrate
have a SLIP or PPP In
business. If you don't,
service provider (ISP) can't give you a fast enough
connection time, TEN has dial-up numbers available
nationwide. There is an hourly surcharge for using
the TEN dial-ups. If you buy a game that supports
TEN, and you don't have an Internet connection,
you're in luck, because, from the game CD, you'll be
able to sign onto the Net using Concentric, a nation-
wide ISP that works extremely well with TEN.

vice. Using these dial-ups gives you full access to the World
Wide Web.

The TEN dial-ups do more than just give you access to the
service and the Web, though. They are also a way for you to
guarantee a fast, reliable, connection to the service. Although
you can sign on using any ISP, by using the TEN dial-up, you
can ensure that you are using a direct path to the service, and
guarantee a low-latency situation when connected. Even
gamers with their own ISPs may want to try using a dial-up line
if their service is not delivering the speed they require far fast-

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Daniel Goldman,
chairman of TEN,
has years of
experience in
online gaming.

J~~ action games. How can you tell? At unique character
on TEN, Mr. Bandwidth, monitors your connection,
telling you what your connect speed is, and rating the
different arenas where you play based upon the
speed you'll get inside each one.

The TEN service is divided first by game, then
by Zone (zones are loosely geographic, although
there is special zone for people who are using a dial-
up connection], and finally by arena. The arenas are
where you chat with other gamers and join games.
Arenas are set up for users of different abilities. And
if you're doubtful, you can check other players' stats before you
begin (stats are only active for Duke Nukem, Command &
Conquer and QUAKE now, but they'll eventually be in place for
all games). To ensure newbies don't get slaughtered, there's no
stat boost for killing a player with far worse stats than you.

One nice thing about the chat rooms is that they contain
some of the best conversation partners on the Web. Why? Part
of it is TEN's rigorously enforced 1 8-plus only policy. "We don't
want kids on the service," says Daniel Goldman. "I don't want
to spend the one hour I have to play each evening with a bunch
of kids. I don't want to get my butt kicked by a bunch of kids,
either! [laughs] It was a decision we made a long time ago,
and we revisit occasionally, but we feel strongly that we're
going to build the best community by making TEN 1 8-plus."

Community. That's the feature that will really make TEN
stand out. When you play on TEN, you will not be playing
against an anonymous "STOAT3492," but a real person, with

stats and personal information that you can see, and who you
can talk to and interact with in a real way. TEN is dedicated to
building this community, and, importantly, sub-communities with-
in the service. "You can't just have a million people intimately
hanging out with each other," says Goldman.

One of the first areas this will be seen is around the Dark
Suns RPG. A free web area, The Havens, will exist around the
game, and within that area will be special web-sites for specific
clubs and guilds. There may be a Thieves' Guild, where
thieves, and thieves only, could go to chat about techniques.
Another Guild or club may be open to all — say one that pro-
motes a specific religion or political view in the game.

Over time, TEN will continue to grow. What's most excit-
ing about this is that there is a mandate at TEN to make sure
members have as much of a hand in its growth as anyone else.
There's no question about it. TEN has the experience that a ser-
vice like this needs and the features that gamers want. If you
want to play online multiplayer games, you want to play on the
Total Entertainment Network.

Oh yeah, it's Westwood Studio's follow-
Command & Conquer,

I it's available on

Smashing

Technical Hurdles

Launching a nationwide, Internet-based, multiplayer gam-
ing service is not a trivial matter, there are awesome tech-
nical hurdles that must be overcome, both on the network
and in the back office. Dave King, co-founder and chief techni-
cal officer of TEN, outlined some of them, "delivering low laten-
cy, being able to scale to handle demand so performance does-
n't degredate, being able to monitor the entire network, reliabil-
ity, being able to bring new titles to the network." Here's how
TEN has managed to solve the problems in the way of excellent
gaming over the Internet.

Low Latency

"Our game servers are right on the Internet backbone, right off
the routers, so we minimize the hop count," says King. This means
that when a signal goes from your computer, to TEN and back
again it doesn't have to travel very far, which keeps log-time low.
Also, by signing key deals with providers, notably Concentric,
TEN has managed to create what King calls a "carpool lane,"
on the Information Superhighway. What that means is that when
you use Concentric to connect to TEN, either because Concentric
is your normal ISP, or because you are using a TEN dial-up, the
signals are guaranteed to be routed ahead of other Internet traf-
fic in times of congestion, delivering true, low-latency perfor-
mance for fast-action games like QUAKE.

Scalability

Unlike some online gaming solutions, TEN is designed so many
thousands of users can be on at the same time, with no perfor-
mance degradation. That's because TEN uses distributed, mod-
ular mini-computers, working in parallel, as servers, which can

be added easily, unlike some services that use difficult-to-
upgrade mainframes.

Network Monitoring Mli

Using special proprietary technology, TEN can constantly
monitor network performance, which the user sees through the actions
of Mr, Bandwidth. This way, users will know, before a game, what
kind of performance they can expect, and can plan accordingly.

Reliability

With servers spread across the entire Internet, TEN is more reli-
able than most services you'll find on the Internet. And, the com-
pany's main server connection has a redundant, fault-tolerant
connection equivalent to more than 200 Tl lines — and that's
just to do back-end stuff, not to do actual game serving.

The System Architecture

When new games come to TEN, it's because TEN provides a
special API enabling developers to specialize their games to
take advantage of TEN's features easily- Designing multiplayer
games strictly far LAN play is one thing, but on the Net, things
get complicated, and many LAN development standards (like
making everyone's games run as slow as the slowest user's) just
don't work. That's why TEN provides a high level of technical
support for developers looking to create Internet-sawy, multi-
player versions of their games.

The bottom line is this: If you want to play on a service that
has already solved the technical problems, and is ready to
deliver seamless action nationwide, you want to play on TEN.

The Gaming Glossary

API — Application Program
Interface. An API is a group of
libraries developers use to easily
conform to certain standards.

ARENA — Inside each zone are
multiple arenas, which you enter to
chat with other players and start
games. The arenas are generally
organized by skill level, so you can
quickly determine where you

should go to play other people of
your level, or with your interests.

BANDWIDTH — A measure of the
amount of data that can be
transferred at one time. High
bandwidth is better than low
bandwidth.

BAUD — ■ a measure of the
bandwidth of a modem, baud is a

measure of symbols transferred
per second.

BBS — Bulletin Board System, a
private dial-up service, similar to
America Online or CompuServe,
but generally run by one person or
a small group and with a more
targeted audience than a major
online service. Many BBS's are r

Confirmed Ki

Publisher: Eidos

uilt from the ground up to be the ultimate in online
flight simulations, Confirmed Kill does not follow the
traditional formulas of the genre. Instead, the game
was designed to address the specific needs of the online
gamer. In researching the game, the developers at Eidos took
a close look at the online flight sims that existed prior to
Confirmed Kill, and found considerable room for improvement.
One area in which they felt there was room for significant
enhancements was the line speed of the carrier. Though online
flight sim fans have grown accustomed to unpredictable perfor-
mance standards due to overwhelming demands on the ser-
vices which provide the games, the team that worked on
Confirmed Kill would not tolerate such standards and therefore
chose to develop the game exclusively for TEN. With its high
speed solutions to traditional latency problems, TEN was the
only available logical choice for the kind of game they wanted
to make. Another area in which the developers saw a need for
a change was in leveling the playing field to make it fair for
players no matter when they joined the game. Finally, the team
thought it was important to take advantage of today's hottest
technology including 3D graphics cards and a brand system for
creating ultra-realistic terrains.

According to game producer and Gulf War combat pilot

This Soviet La-7 is "meat on the table" for a German Fw-190.

These three P-38s are prowling for enemies hiding in the valleys.

Bryan Walker, the decision to go with TEN was an easy one
because of the service's size and line quality. "With six degrees
of flight freedom and huge terrains, flight sims are big band-
width hogs," he suggests. Most importantly, using TEN's high-
speed game servers significantly reduces the problem of "warp-
ing." Its this fact that led Eidos to rethink the model on which to
build Confirmed Kill. With many companies creating games for
the retail market with an "Internet play" option tacked on, Eidos
thought it could do better if it focused solely on the online
aspect, and with the technology offered by TEN, it's created a
quantum leap for flight sim fans.

No stranger to the problems of online flight simulations,
Walker said "there is nothing more aggravating to an A-type
personality than the problems current online flight sim fans must
endure because of poor line quality." It was in proclaiming
these conditions unacceptable for Confirmed Kill that Walker
and his team chose not only to rethink many of the things they
were doing in the development of the game, but to search out
a carrier that could truly handle the demands of its players. If
was also important, after all, to not only solve the problems of
current online flight sims, but to take the genre to the next level
in the process. And, with more than 1 50 person hours of high-
end military simulation expertise, the team is certain they have
achieved this goal in dramatic fashion.

Glossary

out of homes and many can
accommodate only one caller at a
time.

BIT — the smallest discrete amount
of information a computer can
process, a bit is generally
represented by a one or a zero.

ISP — Internet Service Provider. This
is a company that allows you to

access the Internet, generally via a
modem.

KBPS — ■ a measure of the speed at
which a modem transfers, in
thousands of bits per second. A
28.8 kbps modem is twice as fast
as a 14.4 kbps modem.

LATENCY — Functionally, latency
is the time it takes for a signal to
leave a computer, travel to a
distant computer, and return.

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A worthy opponent, the Zero battles it out with some Hellcats

Another problem familiar to most online flight sim
fans is that of jumping into a game and immediately
finding yourself at a huge disadvantage simply for
being new to the game. This occurs because, tradi-
tionally, players who have been in a particular game
for perhaps a few hours end up simply lying in wait for
new players to join the game. Of course, this being the
case, the new player finds himself a target as soon as
they log on. Or, perhaps a player signs on to a game
on the side of a team just shy of complete destruction
by players involved in a campaign for hours previous
to the player even getting in the game. According to

Walker, "It's like being punished for eating dinner while others
are playing the game."

In an effort to right these traditional shortcomings of the
online flight sim formula, Eidos decided to focus more on the

dog fight than the major campaign-
style gaming. In doing so, each play-
er can not only jump into the game at
any point on an even playing field
with others, but can also be assured
that he will not have to search the
skies for hours for a fight. In an effort
to enhance this sense of personal
attention the game's designer's have
implemented a unique Briefing Room
feature which allows the player to fully
coordinate his/her strategies.
In the end, Eidos, in cooperation with TEN, have set out
to establish a new kind of online flight simulation entertainment,
i not only solving many of the problems of the past but surpass-
ing the expectations of the genre's biggest supporters.

Confirmed Kilts detailed graph-
ics help to portray the realistic
look of classic fighters like this
North American P-51D.

Glossary

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

MR. BANDWIDTH — This TEN
character tests your Internet
connection at all times,
and lets you know
which zones are
acceptable for gameplay.
He also will let you know if your
computer is up to snuff to play a
particular type of game, and he'll
kill applications that negatively
affect gameplay.

<3>

MUZZLE — If you are chatting
with someone on TEN who is super
annoying, you can "muzzle" them.
They can keep typing, but you
won't see what they say.

OC3 — The equivalent of 84 Tls,
an OC3 transfers data at 1 55
million bits per second.

PACKET — Information is sent
across the Internet in discrete
quantities, called packets. Each
packet has header and footer data

that identifies, transmission type
(e.g. ethernet/LocalTalk/ATM/ISDN),
protocol {e.g., TCP/IP, HTTP, Apple-
Talk, IPX), and quantity of data.

I PACKET LOSS — Sometimes
networks "lose" packets due to
noisy transmission lines, or
hardware problems. Packet loss
can great increase latency.

PROFILE — Each user on TEN
creates a profile, which contains all

CONTINUED ON PACE 10 j

Shadow Warrior

Publisher: 3D Realms

When the developer's goal is to cre-
ate a 3D shooter with environments
even more interactive than Duke
Nukem 3D, it's safe to say that the project is an
extremely ambitious one. Exclusive to TEN,
Shadow Warrior is 3D Realms" follow-up title to
the incredible Duke Nukem 3D and uses the same
amazing 'Build' engine. Featuring significant tech-
nological innovations, Shadow Warrior allows for
true 3D building techniques which means that the
game can actually support a more realistic and
interactive "room-over-room" architecture. In the
actual gameplay design Shadow Warrior main-
tains much of the gore focus found in Duke, but the
development team wanted to make sure it went
beyond its previous projects. In working to achieve this goal,
the team dug deeper than simply changing the graphics and
actually reworked the gameplay model. Designed to take the
genre to its very limits, Shadow Warrior requires at least a P60
to play, and this, combined with TEN's superior line quality
ensures a cutting-edge gaming experience.

As the perfect demonstration of the game's 3D technolo-
gy, Shadow Warrior offers the ability to commandeer a bull-
dozer and plow through any of the game's walls into the next
room. It's this kind of "sector" building approach that enabled
developers the freedom to implement such things as morphing
environments, 3D tornado effects, and a spectacular amoeba
sector. The real success from this kind of design, however,
comes from being able to include complex 3D items available
for actual use, such as forklifts and cranes.

What's probably more in the tradition of Duke Nukem 3D
is the gore factor. Taking this element to a new level in Shadow
Warrior, 3D Realms was again eager to approach the subject
with a tongue-in-cheek attitude. It's difficult, after all, to take
what can only be described as "a vomiting head" very seri-
ously. Put into the game as a way for players to maintain
involvement in a multiplayer game after taking a fatal blow,

Shadow Warrior's Ninja theme makes it stand out.

dead gamers are reduced to nothing more than a head, which
can do only two things — rotate and spew deadly vomit.

In the end, 3D Realms has created a game that is differ-
ent enough from its previous work and to possibly even go
beyond. Of course, Duke will always have its fans, but with
unique features like being able to drive a tank or use a grenade
launcher that fires bouncing grenades, 3D Realms and TEN
hope Shadow Warrior will attract its own fans. Designed for
high-end PCs, the game won't work on a 486, but with the
right hardware, the game is an intense online experience.

Glossary

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

their stats for various games, and
may contain a portrait and other
information about the user.

PROTOCOL — networks need
packets of information to be
formatted to a certain type to be
able to understand them; the
different types are called Protocols.

T1 — A high speed, direct Internet

connection, a T1 goes 200 times as
fast as a 28.8 modem.

T3 — A high speed, direct Internet
connection. A T3 is made up of 28 Tls.

TCP/IP — Terminal Connect
Protocol/Internet Protocol. All the
information sent over the internet
uses the TCP/IP protocol.

WHISPER — You can send private
messages while chatting on TEN,
by choosing a specific user and the

using the whisper command.

ZONE ■ The areas in which you
can play on TEN are divided into
three main zones (more zones may
eventually go online). You choose
zones from the same screen where
you choose arenas. The Abyss will
give the best results for users on
the East Coast, Pandemonium will
work the best for those in the west
and Valhalla is for those who are
connecting using a direct
TEN dial-up.

AD&D Dark Sun:
Crimson Sands

Publisher: SSI

The tag-line boasts, "It's not a nice place to visit.
And you wouldn't live here long." The only prob-
lem is that there are more than one thousand
people practically living there already. AD&D Dork Sun:
Crimson Sands is an original and exclusive chapter in
SSI's AD&D computer game series found only on TEN.
Wholly unique, Dark Sun; Crimson Sands is the first
game of its kind to offer a persistant environment acces-
sible to any and all TEN users. What this means is that
the game literally gets bigger every day with new play-
ers and scenarios. Considering the traditional depth, col-
orful characters, and never-ending adventure found in
SSI's AD&D games, Dark Sun: Crimson Sands is in many
ways the perfect opportunity to exploit the technological
advantages of a service like TEN. After all, if there are
any real shortcomings to the AD&D fantasy RPGs of fhel
past, it's that the worlds always had limits. Creating a game
such as Dark Sun; Crimson Sands also enables players to expe-
rience a true variety of playing styles, thus making the game that
much more like real life. With new characters interacting with
the world each day, Dark Sun: Crimson Sands is constantly rein-
venting itself. Finally what will help make Dark Sun: Crimson
Sands a true landmark success is TEN's overall commitment to
the project.

One of the major goals of TEN has always been to offer
totally unique games and experiences to the user and Dark Sun:
Crimson Sands fits the bill like nothing else. An experiment in
online gaming, Dark Sun:
Crimson Sands is able to bring
its apocalyptic world of bizarre
and deadly creatures to a vir-
tually unlimited amount of users
because of TEN's exceptional
technology and service. In pro-
viding a game for fans of tra-

This altar shows off the
detail of the game's art.

ditional RPGs in which new players may join a world with an
actual history and future, SSI and TEN hove created more than
just a temporary escape for AD&D fans. They have, in fact, cre-
ated a whole new community of people and a way for them to
interact with each other in an environment that provides an
immense amount of adventuring potential. And, as fans of the
AD&D series would probably have predicted, this kind of
opportunity has stirred up quite a bit of excitement among those
familiar with the series.

With the number of players increasing daily, what is truly
exciting about Dark Sun: Crimson Sands is not the quantity of
players, but the different personalities and characteristics each
person brings to the game. Just as in real life, the mix of differ-
ent personality types is what creates the spark of love, anger,
competition, and so on. So to will the case be in Dark Sun:
Crimson Sands when different characters begin to interact with
each other. Given the carefully crafted structure of this explo-
ration-based adventure, SSI has designed the kind of game that
will undoubtedly be played differently by everyone involved
and it's this measure of uncertainty that makes the prospect of
Dark Sun: Crimson Sands so exhilarating.

With its extensive reach, not only through the service itself
but also in its outstanding presence on the World Wide Web,
TEN is really the only organization able to offer the proper sup-
port for a game like Dark Sun: Crimson Sands. It's exactly this
kind of extensive RPG that demands a support network of live
chat arenas and continuous communication channels between
users to keep the game moving. In providing this kind of struc-
ture players can not only enjoy themselves in the game, but can
occasionally take a step back from the experience and view it
in a different light.

Duke Nukem 3D

Publisher; 3d Realms

The hottest 3D action gome available on the PC. Duke Nukem
3D picks up where all the others left off with its amazingly inter-
active backgrounds, twisted sense of humor, and high-intensity
action. Ready for immediate download via the games area on
the TEN web-site, Duke Nukem 3D Shareware is one way to
ploy Duke Online. However, if you own a full retail version of
the game, you'll be able to take advantage of every explosive
level with some of the hottest players around.

One of TEN's most awesome exclusives, Duke is a big favorite.

Command & Conquer

Publisher: Wesfwood Studios

One of the greatest war/ strategy games of all time, Command
& Conquer requires fast thinking and a killer instinct. Another of
TENs exciting highlights, Command & Conquer is the ultimate in
multiplexer action. To play Command & Conquer, you'll need to
have the full retail version of the gome on your hard drive as well
as downloading a special file from the TEN website. While there
is no question that

.?-:,.'U...I. . .h.:-.i>lftUtel...!.a|

Deadlock

Publisher: Accolade

n Deadlock there is one planet and it's your responsibility to col-
onize and take control of it. With some of the most intricately
designed 3D graphics and intriguing storyline features, Deadlock
offers enough substance for even the most expert empire building
fanatic while still maintaining a very easy learning curve for those
just getting started. Choose from one of seven races and get start-
ed building the most sound colony you can muster. You're in
charge and your colonists are depending on you to create the
perfect environment for them to live and thrive.

The original struggle between Ores and Humans, Warcrafl set
the standard for strategy games as we know them today.
Featuring more than two dozen campaigns as well as addi-
tional custom scenarios, this game has exactly the kind of lifes-
pan and payability to make it an outstanding online gaming
experience. To play Warcraft on TEN you need only download
a special version from the TEN website. Also, with Warcraft's
two-player limit, this is truly the perfect game for those just get-
ting started in multiplayer gaming.

□ ED

mm tr

i — V

The sport of racing will never seem the same after playing the explosive Necrodome from SSI.

Necrodome Shareware

Publisher; SSI

Racing isn't what it used to be. In fact, all-out warfare isn't even
what it used to be in SSI's Necrodome. The future's newest
bloodsport comes to the PC in a big way on TEN. Necrodome
from SSI is a high-impact 3D shooting game with great multi-
player potential. Download the latest version from The Beta
Zone as well as the DirectX 2 drivers necessary to bury your-
self in the action. Featuring true cooperative play — allowing
one player to drive the car and another to take care of the
shooting, Necrodome is packed-to-the-gills with competitive
"racing" action.

Panzer General Online

Publisher: SSI

Considered by many to be one of the best war games of all
time, Panzer General Online, makes it exclusive debut on
TEN. Test your skills against some of the greatest strategic minds
online with this TEN-
only version of SSI's
masterpiece. To play
Panzer Gen-eral
Online, you need
DirectX 2 drivers
which you can down-
load from TEN. You
can also download a
full instruction manual

if you're interested in taking the game to its limits. Panzer
General may not be as fast paced as QUAKE, but the game is
every bit as intense.

Big Red Racing

Publisher; Eidos

When it comes to high-speed racing action online, there is no
finer example than Big Red Racing from Eidos Interactive.
Choosing from a selection of 24 tracks and a wide variety of
vehicles, such as dumptrucks, backhoes, or even hover crafts,
Big Red Racing is far from the traditional lap around the track.
Supporting up to five players per race, the mulliplayer aspect of
this fast-paced racing game can simply not be overestimated.
Demonstrating TEN's ability to offer a variety of gaming genres,
Big Red Racing is an extremely nice way to round out an
already exciting line-up.

War-game fans rejoice, Panzer
General is on TEN.

Hi millMHiii ■rfUftlmn

An Hour in the Life of

DeathStoat

DeathStool, (aka Chris Gorsky) is a Civil Engineering student at
the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He enjoys the
town's great sports heritage and its thriving music scene, but he
also enjoys playing PC games and talking to people about his
passion for games and technology. He likes to take the time after
class to fog on to TEN. Once he's on, he heads straight to his
favorite chat room in the Command & Conquer arena. He's
made some good friends since he joined TEN, and he's always
interested in meeting new people there.

Today when he logs on he immediately recognizes two
names in the chat room. Both in the Central Time Zone, they
pretty similar hours to Chris. After chatting with his two

friends about past matches of C&C, the three of them decide
it's time to play. Having played together before they know each
others' strategies pretty well and so the competition is especial-
ly satisfying. An hour passes quickly and Chris realizes it's time
to get ready for a night on the town, and so he ends his game,
says good-bye and disconnects knowing that he'll probably
find his two friends there again tomorrow.

NarVack

NarVack [aka Jim Gstinsic) works as an administrative assistant
for a lobbiest firm in Washington, D.C. The job's OK and
there's plenty to learn, but on the pressure and monotony of the
work can get him down. Nothing beats the stress like a lunch-
hour spent killing everyone who crosses his path in Duke
Nukem 3D. Since he's still technically at work, he can't spend
a lot of time online trying to find other people willing to play so
he appreciates that TEN always has people logged-on.

On an especially tedious day, Jim spent the morning filing
and by the time lunchtime roles around he's ready for some kind

Three TEN Users

Meet new people and try new things, TEN is never the same thing twice.

of escape. As soon as the boss is gone !o his daily power lunch,
he's logged on and heading straight to the Duke Nukem 3D
arena. As he usual, there are several people already playing
and Jim has his choice of gomes to join. After quickly checking
the rankings board to see how good the players in each game
are, he picks the game with the best players on the site. Jim, as
hell humbly tell you, rocks at Duke Nukem 3D is always anxious
to up his stats. He plays a particularly ferocious game, even
defeating the highest ranked players, but soon realizes it's time
to get back to work. Recharged by the idea that he has dra-
matically improved his own ranking, he disconnects and goes
back to filing with a smile on his face (and killing on his mind).

time. Instead, he checks out what's going
on all over the site before making a
choice. He likes the 1 8+ rule, because
at 28 he's not really interested in talking
about Beavis and Butthead.

After chatting with someone from Son
Francisco, he accepts an invitation to play
SSI's Necrodome. Having heard lots of
great things about the game, he's excited to
try it out. After downloading the shareware
version directly from TEN, he ends up hav-
ing a great time playing. At about 1:30
he's really starting to get the hang of the
game, but he's got court tomorrow, so he
decides it's time for bed. As he's shutting
down he thinks that he'll have to log on
tomorrow for some more Necrodome.

LordElren

LordElren (aka Raymond Rowe] got married a little more than a
year ago and moved to Miami to practice law. He doesn't
know many people in town and both he and his wife work long
hours. No problem, except he's a night person and his wife, a
marine biologist, isn't. Raymond was spending most nights
watching cable alone or playing his PlayStation till he decided
to try TEN on a PC his in-laws gave him for a wedding gift.

On this particular night Phil and his wife go to bed at
around 1 1 , but by 1 1 :30 he's slipping out of bed and head-
ing to the den to see what's going on at TEN. He used to be
surprised that there was so much activity late at night, but he's
already come to count on that fact. Unlike some players on
TEN, he doesn't have a favorite game he likes to play every

og On To TEN

U HAVE INTERNET ACCESS

If you already have access to the World Wide Web,
getting logged on to TEN is as easy as visiting the
TEN Web site at www.fen.nef. Once you're logged
on to the web site simply follow the easy instructions
for downloading the official TEN software. The whole
process takes only a few minutes, but keep in mind
you will need a valid credit card to get signed up.
Once you've downloaded the software and
established your password you'll be asked if you
would like to use your own Internet connection or
one of TEN's local dial-up numbers. Choose one and
you are ready to go.

WHAT IF I DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THE WEB?

If you don't have access to the Internet, don't worry
because it's not necessary to use TEN. If you can't
download the software from TEN's Web site there
are two other very easy ways to get it. In fact, you
already have the necessary software if you own the
full retail versions of Accolade's Deadlock or 3D
Realms's Duke Nukem 3D. If so, simply choose the
TEN option built in to the game and follow the
simple instructions for getting signed up. Also
remember that the full TEN software is included on
the disc that came with this issue. If you do not have
the full retail version of one of these games you can
still get a free copy of the software by simply calling
(415)778-3733.

rating

Next Generation gainers guide

Every new "next-generation" game, rated for your perusal

pV| he following list is a round-up of all
Hj the final review scores given to next
^■■i generation console games. Titles

Publisher

NGRatng

TlTU

Publisher

NG Rating

jumping Flash'. 2
jupiter Strike

KileakThe DNA Imperative

Sony
Acclaim

Namco

****

*****

with the suffix (Japan) are not available in the

SME

TemftestX

e Software

****

U.S. Happy hunting...

Kileak The Blood 2

SME

Tobol No 1

So CE
ony

****

Publisher

NG RflTTNO

Killing Time

Naxat Soft

^Highway Battle

***

King's Field

Asciiware

s'oarum Holob
pecmim o byte

Nintendo 64

Krazy Ivan

Psygnosis

ToMfErf se Turbo
Tool Eclipse Tur o

rysta ynamics

Super Mono 64

Nintendo

*****

Loaded

Interplay

****

Pilot Wings

Nintendo

*****

Madden '97

EA Sport

****

Metal jacket (Japan)

Solan

Electronic Arts

PlayStation

Mobile Suit Gundam (japan) Bandai

Worhawk

****

Adidas Power Soccer

Psygnosis

***

Mortal Komfaot 3

Publisher

Wipeout

Psygnosis

*****

Agile Warrior

Virgin

Motor Toon GP (japan)

SCE

Worms

Ocean of America

****

Alien Trilogy

Acclaim

****

Namco Museum vol. I

Namco

****

WWF Wrestlemonio

Acclaim

SCE

***

Namco Museum vol. 2

Namco

X-Com: UFO Defense

Microprose

Aquanaut's Holiday (Japan) ArtDink

*+**

NASCAR Racing

Sierra

Zero Divide

Zoom

Arc The Lad (Japan)

SCE

****

NBA jam Tournament Ed'

Acclaim

****

Bottle Arena Toshinden

SCE

****

NBA Uve '96

Electronic Arts

****

Saturn

Battle Arena Toshinden 2

SCE

****

NBA Shoot Out

Sony Interactive

***

Alien Trilogy

Acclaim

****

Beyond the Beyond

SCE

NCAA Gomebroker

Sony Interactive

****

Alone in the Dork

T-HQ

***

Block Down

****

NFL Gameday

Sony Interactive

*****

Astal

Sega

***

B/ood Omen: Legacy of Kai

****

NHL Face Off

Sony Interactive

*****

Battle Arena Tosh' Remix

Sega

***

Bogey Dead 6

Son/

***

Olympic Soccer

U.S. Gold

***

Battle Monster (Japan)

Naxat Soft

Bottom of the Ninth

Konami

****

Perfect Weapon

ASC Games

Blockfire

Sega

***

Boxer's Rood (japan)

New Corp

***

PGA Tour Invitational '96

Electronic Arts

***

Bug!

Sega

***

Cosmic Race (Japan)

Neorex

Phiiosoma

SCE

Clockwork Knight

Sega

Crash Bandicoot

SCE

***

Po'ed

Accolade

****

Clockwork Knight 2 (Japan)Sega

***

Crime Crackers (Japan)

Sony Entertainment

★*

Power Serve 3-D Tennis

***

Congo the Movie

Sega

Criticom

VicTokai

Power Baseball (Japan)

Konami

Cyberspeed

Mindscape

Cyberia

Interplay

***

Project Horned Owl

Sony

***

Acclaim

***

Cyberspeed

Mindscape

***

Project Overkill

Konami

****

Dark Legends (Japan)

Data East

Cyber Sled

Namco

Roiden

Selbu

Daytona USA

Sega

****

Cyber War (Japan)

Coco Nuts

Rayman

UbISoft

Deo dolus (Japan)

Sega

***

Defcom S

Data East

****

Return Fire

Time Warner Int.

Decadent

Sega

****

Dark Stalkers

***

Resident Evil

Capcom

*****

Double Switch

Digital Pictures

Deception

***

Ridge Racer

Namco

****

Earthworm Jim 2

Playmates

***

Descent

Interplay

****

Ridge Racer Revolution

Namco

FIFA Soccer

Electronic Arts

*****

Destruction Derby

Psygnosis

****

Road Rash

Electronic Arts

***

Fighting Vipers

Sega

*****

Disrupter

Universal Interactive

****

Robo Pit

T-HQ

F-l Uve

Sega

****

Die Hard Trilogy

Fox Interactive

****

Romance of the 3 King'IV

Koef

***

Frank Thomas Baseball

Acclaim

***

Williams

****

Soviet Strike

Electronic Arts

****

Galactic Attack

Acclaim

***

Dragon Ball Z (Japan)

Bandai

Sheilshock

U.S. Gold

****

Gefckamugen!on-Tonco{Japan

Sega-Japan

****

fade to Block

Electronic Arts

****

Shockwave Assault

Electronic Arts

Ghen War

Sega

***

Final Doom

Williams

***

Sidewinder

Golden Axe: The Duel

Sega

***

Formula /

Psygnosis

Silverlode

Vic Tokai

****

Goth a (japan)

Sega

***

Gex

Cryscal Dynamics

***

SimGry 2000

***

Guordi on Heroes (Japan)

Sega

***

Goo) Storm

Konami

****

Slam 'n'jam

Crystal Dynamics

***

Hang-On GP "95

Sega

***

Gridrunner

Virgin

***

Space Griffon

Hi-Octane

Gunner's Heaven (Japan)

MediaVision

****

Space Hulk

Electronic Arts

***

High Velocity

Atlus

***

Gunship

Micro prose

Spot Goes to Hollywood

Virgin Interactive

Iron Storm

Working Designs

****

Hardball 5

Accolade

Star Gladiator

***

johnny Bazoakatone

US Gold

***

In the Zone

Konami

***

Star Winder

Mindscape

***

Krazy Ivan

Sega

Iron & Blood

Acclaim

Steel Harbinger

Mindscape

***

Last Gladiators (Japan)

****

jumping F/osh!

SCE

*****

Street Racer

UBI Soft

****

legend of Oasis

Sega

****

Next Generation OnUne, Http://www.neit-generation.com/

WARNING: Before Playing,
Notify Your Next of Kin.

rating

Tmr

PUBUSHER

NG Rating

Loaded

Interplay

***

Shining Wisdom

Working Designs

***

Mansion of Hidden Souls

Sega

***

SimCity

Maxis

***

Mortal Kombat II

Acclaim

***

Skeleton Warriors

Playmates

***

Myst

SunSoft

***

SteamGear Mash

Takara (Japan)

NHL All-Star Hockey '96

Sega

Street PightenThe Movie

Acclaim

***

NHL Powerplay '96

Virgin Interactive

*****

Street FighterAlpha 2

Capcom

****

Nigh I Warriors

Capcom

***

Striker

Acclaim

NipjK.S

Sega

*****

Toma (Japan)

Tengen

Off-World Interceptor

Crystal Dynamics

***

Telris Plus

***

Panzer Dragoon

Sega

****

Theme Pork

Electronic Arts

Panzer Dragoon II Zwei

Sega

****

3D Baseball

Crystal Dynamics

***

Pebble Beach Golf Links

Sega

***

Three Din/ Dwarves

Sega

***

Riglord Sago (Japan)

Sega

***

ThunderStrike 2

US Gold

****

Robo-Pil

Kokopelli

***

True Pinball

***

Quarterback Attack

Digital Pictures

***

Ultimate Monol Kombat 3 Williams

***

Quarterback Club '97

Acclaim

***

Virtu o Cop

Sega

****

Saturn Bomberman

Hudson (Japan)

****

Virtuo Fighter

Sega

****

Sega Rally Championship

Sega

*****

Virtue Fighter Kids

Sega

****

Shellshock

U.S. Gold

Virtua Fighter Remix

Sega

*****

Shinobi Legions

Sega

***

Virtua Fighter 2

Sega

*****

Shining Force

Working Designs

***

Virtua Racing

Time Warner

***

NG Rating

Virtuo/ Hydlide

Virtual Open Tennis

Virtual Volleyball (Japan)

Wicked 18

Vic Tokai

***

Wing Arms

Sega

***

Wipeout

Sega

****

World Cup Golf: Pro' Edition US Gold

***

World Series baseball

Sega

****

World Series Baseball II

Sega (Japan)

****

Worldwide Soccer

Sega

***

Worms

Ocean of America

****

X-A1en: Child' of the Atom

***

For your information

Here's what the ratings signify:
Revolutionary
Excellent
*** Good
** Average
* Bad

IT SEEMS EVERY AD
TRIES TO SELL YOU
A GAME WITH MORE

more BUTTS,

MORE$MUT,

AHO MORE NUTS.

HOW ABOUT MORE FUN?

PRESENTING NAMCO MUSEUM™ VOLUME 2

Lose the hype. Enjoy games that are hip.
Namco Museum Volume 2™ is the second
release from our classic arcade anthology.
Six more arcade hits blast out of the past to
give you flashbacks of fun. Super Pac-Man,

HAUC0UU5EUU
J

Xevious, Dragon Buster, Gaplus, Grobda
and Mappy are all included on one groovy
CD - each game an exact translation from
the original arcade coin-op. Hey, who
said you can't have fun at the Museum?

CS> n

Namco Huseum UoLume I B E6 199S 11Q6 Namco Lid Ml rights rmwi PiaySlation and the PlagSlalfon logo are trademarks nf Snug [onplei Entertainment lire ratings icon is a trademark of Iff! Interacts DigM Software fissociation

Madden '97 PlayStation Fighting Vipers Saturn The Pandora Directive PC Disrupter PlayStation

Street Fighter Alpha 2 Saturn Formula 1 PlayStation World Series Baseball Saturn Final Doom Playstation

final

We play the games, and then we review them for- you

252

PlayStation

Saturn

266

272

Arcade

272

Nintendo 64

272

3D0

272

Genesis

272

Virtual Boy

272

Neo Geo

272

Super NES

" ach month, come rain

C or shine, the
™ unstoppable Nwxt
Generation team of diehard
gamers reviews and rates the
month's new game releases.
Our opinion as to each game's
merits is expounded on in the
text, but for a rough guide to a
game's worth (or lack of it)
refer the following ratings.

Revolutionary

Brilliantly conceived and
flawlessly executed; a new
high-water mark.

*■★** Excellent

A high-quality and inventive
new game. Either a step
forward for an existing genre,
or a successful attempt at
creating a new one.

*** Good

A solid and competitive
example of an established
game style.

**■ Average

Perhaps competent; certainly
uninspired.

★ Bad

Crucially flawed in design or
application.

PlayStation

Deception

Publisher: Tecmo
Developer: Tecmo

This first-person, 3D graphic
adventure starts with a doozy of a
premise: make the player the bad
guy. As the Master of the Castle
of the Damned, the player
watches for adventurers entering
the castle, then tracks them,
traps them, and kills them, all
with the eventual goal of
resurrecting Satan. No lie.

A little backstory may help:
the player's character is the first-
born prince of a peaceful kingdom.
The younger prince murdered the
king and framed the player. While
waiting to be burned at the stake,
the player becomes disgusted by
the treachery of his own family
and the fickleness of the people
and calls out for help from God or
the Devil. Take a guess who
answers. Eventually, of course,
things take a more altruistic turn,
and the player does make good
triumph over evil.

Until then however, Deception
is one of the strangest and
subtlely disturbing games we've
ever played. When your only
options after trapping a hapless
mortal are "Strip his soul for
magic," "Kill him for gold," or
"Save his body for building
monsters," you know you're not
in Kansas anymore. The scene
with the young daughter, forlornly
calling out the window to her
adventurer parents, "Mommy,
Daddy, why don't you come
home?" induced more than a few
stomach knots.

On the other hand, you can't
attack victims directly, only lure
them into traps, and while more
strategically interesting than a
3D shooter, it's oddly passive.
The pace is slow, the story takes
a while to get rolling, and you can
only save one game at a time.

Despite these faults
however, there's no denying
that with its polygon-modeled
and texture-mapped
environment and characters,
Deception looks great. It offers
hours of playtime, and, in
execution if not structure, it's
unlike anything you've ever
played before. For a game that

With Its dark storyline and strangely disturbing goals, Deception is one
of the more noteworthy titles of the season, despite some flaws

offers a touch of the dark side,
it's more than worth a look.
Rating: **★

Disruptor

Publisher: Universal Interactive
Developer: Insomniac Games

As Universal's second title,
(Crash Bandicootwas Universal's
before it sold to Sony) Disruptor
brings high-quality production to
the tried-and-true Doom formula.

As a space marine, the player
is thrown into a variety of
futuristic environments. Unlike
the repetitive brick tunnels of
Doom, each of the thirteen levels
has its own distinctive look, from
an icy Antarctic base to a surreal
dream sequence with bizarre
aliens. While the gameplay is
extremely similar to most first-
person shooters, Disruptor
implements "Psionic" weapons,
which are basically sci-fi spells.
The strategy involves more
tactical gunplay and resourceful
Psionic use, with less find-the-key
objectives. And gameplay
changes as the levels grow
progressively tougher; particularly
hair-raising is the escape from a
time-bombed reactor.

Designed exclusively for the
PlayStation, the game takes
advantage of the hardware's
polygon and lighting capabilities.
The levels implement texture-rich,
polygonal architecture,
distinguishing Disruptoras the
first true 3D first-person shooter
for the PlayStation. Players

experience a new feeling of depth
in moving through the levels, and
the lighting and reflections seen
in Psionic effects enhance this
sense of realism. But the sprite-
based enemies, while well-drawn
and scaled decently, bring back a
bit of the 2D feel.

The audio is impressive. Like
Magic Carpets interactive score,
the game introduces intense
music during battle, and lighter
tracks during non-combative
exploration. The sound effects are
all studio quality, with excellent
weaponry bursts and dying cries.

Well-balanced, with good
control, nice graphics, on-the-fly
strategy, secret areas, and good
sound, Disruptor gives the player
everything new that it can within
a genre saturated with
mediocrity. For those who have
finished Alien Trilogy, here lies
your next challenge.
Rating:

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rating playstation

PlayStation

STRIKE FOUR

Soviet Strike

Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Studios

EA Studios has finally shipped a PlayStation title that isn't a retouched 3D0 game, and Soviet
Strike delivers real 32-bit firepower while staying true to its roots. As the title suggests, this
newest Strike game sends chopper pilots on covert missions into unstable Soviet regions. With
two overhead views — the traditional Strike camera and a new, locked-on chase view — the
player explores five large terrains, with between 5 and 10 different mission objectives per terrain

map. The objectives are familiar yet widely
varied, including knocking out power
plants, rescuing POWs, and destroying
weapon installations. Retaining the
"thinking man's shooter" design, resource
management is a big part of this game, as
is the surgical precision required to
dismantle enemy forces.

A real-time, living battlefield enhances
the urgency of the missions and the player's
involvement. In the first level, for example,
your co-pilot must be rescued to avoid a
firing squad. If the player is too late
reaching the prison compound, the co-pilot
is actually seen escorted from his cell and
executed against the wall. Even better
though, with sharp-shooting, you can save
him at the last minute.

While the animation and explosions are
average, the game makes a giant leap
forward in terms of the environment. The
rendered, nearly photo-realistic topography
and fully polygon-modeled buildings and vehicles form an impressive 30 landscape. Also worth
mentioning are the stylish FMV clips, which for once are well-acted and not overly intrusive. The

audio is also exemplary, with excellent wartime

sound effects, battle music, and some well-written
dialogue that includes humorous shouts
from Soviet troops, and all with practically
no load time.

Of course, minor flaws do exist: the heads-up
display smacks of 16-bit era graphics, but the
worst problem is the limited view of the terrain.
Players will frequently have to stop and switch to
the map to find things; although this limited view
has been a part of the Strike series since day one.

However, this really is quibbling. By no means
easy, and by no means a short game, the Strike
series has made the leap to 32-bit with a
thoughtfulness and style that should be considered
a reference point for all future 32-bit upgrades.
Rating: ***★

The photo-realistic terrain, like Siberia, seen above,
lends fantastic credibility to each combat environment

Your co-pilot is being held hostage here.
Save him or watch him face the firing squad

Final Doom

Publisher: Williams
Developer: Williams/id

Hands down, the original Doom
for PlayStation was the best
version available for home
consoles — smooth, dead-on
control, lots of great lighting
effects, the complete Doom plus
Doom II on one disk, and a
cracking surround-sound mix. It
was a blast.

Final Doom also includes
two complete games: Final
Doom from the designers at id,
and the TNT levels, composed of

the best fan-designed Doom
WADs (some of which are much,
much nastier than anything id
came up with). But there's
trouble in paradise, or Hell, as
the case may be: Final Doom is
jerky, with a noticeably low
frame rate, imprecise control,
and too many spots where
seams show in the textures. In a
side-by-side comparison, Final
Doom didn't even come close to
the quality of the original. Why
this happened isn't exactly
clear: granted, the version
supplied by Williams wasn't a

shrink-wrapped copy, just a final
beta on gold disk. This is,
however, the format most
reviewable material is supplied
on, and it was clearly labeled as
final and reviewable. Certainly
there can't be enough of a
difference between a master CD
and the box copy to make up for
the deficiencies. At press time,
Williams is hip-deep in
development of Doom 64 for
Nintendo 64 — which,
incidentally, looks incredible —
so perhaps Final Doom simply
fell by the development wayside.

In any case. Final Doom is
far from unplayable. In fact, it
has much the same action you'd
expect from Doom and a severe
challenge even for Doom
veterans. Had the original
PlayStation Doom not been so
perfect, we might not have been
as critical of Final Doom. But it
was, and we are.
Rating: *★*

Formula 1

Publisher: Psygnosis
Developer: Bizarre Creations

Despite the plethora of racing
games available on next-gen
systems, there has yet to be a
title that truly satisfies the
hardcore race fan on all levels.
With its exquisite graphics, wide
range of challenges, and startling
amount of depth, Formula 1 is the
game that changes everything.

The graphics in Formula 1
practically jump out at you. Few
titles have made the leap
expected from the second
generation of PlayStation games,
but Fl proves that there is plenty
of potential in the machine to be
exploited. From the exquisitely
rendered cars, to the detailed
track and its surroundings,
Formula 1 displays state-of-the-
art videogame graphics that
perfectly convey the atmosphere

of the race environment.

Accompanying the superb
graphics is gameplay that ranks
near simulation quality. All 17
tracks from the actual Formula 1
season have been recreated to
serve as the proving ground for
races featuring 24 competitors.
An Arcade mode enables novice

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rating playstation

racers to jump right in and begin
testing their driving skills, but
after a few races most gamers
will probably opt for the
significantly more difficult Grand
Prix mode, with its more accurate
racing dynamics. There's even an
option in Grand Prix mode that
can set the length of each race to
the actual number of laps of the
real-life racing event. Considering
the challenge someone would
face racing 17 full-length Formula
1 courses on the hardest setting
in Grand Prix mode, the word
"depth" hardly seems to do the
game justice.
Rating: *****

Iron & Blood:
Warriors of RavenLoft

Publisher: Acclaim
Developer: Take 2 Interactive

Originally planned for M2, Iron &
Blood's noble concept of taking
licensed AD&D fantasy characters
and setting them in a 3D fighting
environment is ultimately flawed
— the fighting feels secondary to
the license.

The game plays in two
modes: Head-to-Head and
Campaign. In the traditional
Head-To-Head mode, players
choose from 16 fighters who
range from a one-armed dwarf to
a classic hero with a massive
sword. The real AD&D influence
shows up in the Campaign mode,
where players must select a
team of fighters, either good or
evil, and launch into a long
tournament where the prizes
include magic artifacts (that
work as power-ups), and the
chance to add new characters to
your party. Also you need to
alternate characters between
matches to give the character
who just fought time to heal.

Graphically, the polygonal,
Gouraud-shaded characters are

well-detailed and smoothly
animated. The gameplay is fast,
but very reminiscent of
Toshinden. The only inventive
feature is an energy-charged
barrier that encircles the ring,
damaging players who make
contact with it and making ring-
outs impossible. The combos are
limited, the special moves are
cliched, and without any
noticeable enhancements brought
to the actual fighting, the action
feels passe. The digitized speech
and special effects are average,
and the techno soundtrack seems
laughably anachronistic against
the medieval visuals.

While Take 2 should be
applauded for trying something
different with a fantasy license,
the fighting, unlike Tobal No. 1,
just doesn't innovate at all.
Rating: **

Madden '97

Publisher: EA Sports
Developer: Visual Concepts

No sports series can even come
close to the success of EA's
Madden Football, and when last
year's version got canned, it
shocked and disappointed
thousands of fans. So what has
EA done in two years to win back
the hearts of once-loyal Madden
fans? Simple: make the best
Madden ever.

Madden has always been
about a great two-player game
with all the real players, plays,
stats, and options. Madden '97
has stuck to that basic formula,
but upped the ante on every
count. The graphics are crystal
clear with smooth animation and
detailed uniforms for each NFL
team. The stats are exhaustive
and presented in an easy-to-use
and classy manner. The plays are
usual Madden fare with a few
updates and the list of options

Iron & Blood* detailed characters are cut from TSR's Advanced Dungeons &
Dragons mold. Too bad the fighting isn't any more exciting than rolling dice

just keeps growing. As for the
gameplay, the two-player game is
better than ever. Tight control,
top speed, and great arcade-style
gameplay are sure to make the
Sunday mornings before football
that much more enjoyable.

What makes the two-player
game so inspiring is the
impeccable control and skill
required. As quarterback you
have to spot an open receiver and
decide whether a bullet or lob is
best, then switch to the wide
receiver where you have to
position and time yourself to
make the catch. On the other
side of the ball, you make a mad
rush for the QB then as the pass
is released switch to a DB and try
to break up the pass with a
perfectly timed jump or hit. Get
too rough, and the flag flies for a
little pass interference.

Unfortunately, Madden does
have a flaw or two, the biggest
being the computer Al — once
again, one play always fools it.
Madden has always had plays
like these, and it's always ruined
the one-player game. That play
alone dropped the score on
Madden '97 one full star,
because once you figure out what
it is (and no, we won't tell you),
there's no challenge left. And
when there's no challenge,
there's no more reason to play
through a season. However, the
two-player mode is still good
enough to rank Madden as one of
the best football titles available.
Rating: ****

Namco's Museum
Volume 2

Publisher: Namco
Developer: Namco

Unlike Namco's first Museum
collection, Volume 2just doesn't
provide enough good classics.
With a total of six games, only
Super Pac-Man (not available in
the Japanese version) and
shooters Gaplus and Xevious, are
really worth spending time with.
The other three are obscure to
say the least — Mappy, Grobda,
and Dragon Buster — all are
examples of game genres that
have evolved way beyond these
originals, and with good reason.

Grobda, an overhead view tank
game, isn't much more than a
one-player Combat with multiple
enemies and a shield. In Mappy,
the player becomes the title
character, a mouse who must
trap crooks and bounce between
high-rise stories on trampoline.
And (ugh) Dragon Buster is a very
8-bit looking, side-scrolling
dungeon adventure with virtually
no nostalgia factor and absolutely
no redeeming gameplay.

As in the first Museum disc,
the games are presented using
their original code running
through a JAMMA emulator, so
again, the control, graphics, and
sound are arcade perfect. The dip
switches allow you to adjust the
difficulty just like the original
arcade boards, and you get the
original cabinet artwork for each

Namco Museum vol. 2 lacks the
class of the first volume

game. Also, the first-person,
Doom-style museum is included to
look at the game's memorabilia,
but like before, the loading time
involved in looking at the exhibits
is atrocious.

Only the most die-hard classic
game collectors will want this
disc, and they'll only want half of
it. Namco should more closely
consider the future line-up in its
classic series.
Rating: ★★

NASCAR Racing

Publisher: Sierra
Developer: Papyrus

This title isn't for the racing fan
who enjoys cool scenery. It's not
for the racing fan who wants to
be seen in the hottest car. It's
not for the racing fan who wants
to leave other racing game fans in
the dust. NASCAR Racingis for
the die-hard stock car racing fan
who loves NASCAR so much they
don't care what kind of package
it comes in. Everyone else, well,
you're out of luck.

The game includes all the
usual racing extras: driver stats,

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rating playstation

famous tracks like Sears Point,
three levets of stock cars to
choose from, and myriad details to
keep track of for each car — tire
status, fuel, and so on. From a
graphics standpoint, however,
things are less than spectacular.
While stock car racing necessarily
involves only one type of car, the
designers could have put a little

more effort into the surroundings
— the backgrounds are as boring
as the cars. Another big minus for
this title is the lack of a two-
player mode; what fun is it if you
can't challenge your best buddy to
a few laps?

Undiscriminating stock car
fans may appreciate NASCAR
more than some, but the average

Joe will not be awed by what
passes for realism in this game,
and instead just get a hankering
to play The Need for Speed. So,
unless you're the kind of person
who gets a rush doing fifty laps
on the same oval track (and you
know who you are), this title isn't
for you.
Rating: ★*

PlayStation

WILLING

AND

ABEL

Carnage runs rampant throughout the game; this
battle is the gaming equivalent of Braveheart

Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain

Publisher: Activision

Developer: Crystal Dynamics/Silicon Knights

— — ■ p antaS y adventures with an overhead view have

been done before, but not like this. With a stylish, macabre storyline and innovative design
elements, Legacy of Kain immerses the player in an all-consuming bloodbath of vengeance.

As Kain, a nobleman turned sword-wielding vampire, the player returns from the dead on a
grim quest to avenge his assassination. Employing some RPG elements and arcade-style combat
reminiscent of Gauntlet, Kain's world is huge and extremely gory. The game unfolds through
exploration of crypts, towns, castles, and forests. The player must collect spells and weapons and
constantly feed upon the blood of enemies and innocent townspeople to remain alive. The anti-
hero approach, storyline, and unique design elements tie in well with the gameplay — Kain's
vampiric power of shapeshifting enables him to become, among other things, a bat, a werewolf,
and even disguise himself as a mortal human to overcome different obstacles. His attack spells
are particularly morbid, including numbers like Flay, Implode, and Decay, which result in some
particularly gruesome death animations. Along with some morbidly explicit rendered FMV, and
Kain's angst-ridden monologues (the voice acting is over the top, but excellent), this game earns
every bit of its "Mature" ESRB rating.

Kain, in the starring role, is the only pre-rendered sprite, and his appearance changes as he
acquires armor and weapons. All supporting characters appear as traditionally hand-drawn sprites.
More notable, however, are the painstakingly detailed backgrounds and lighting effects that
complement magic spells. The sound effects are excellent, from the clanging sword, to the eerie
music, to some very well-voiced (if occasionally
repetitive) dialogue.

The game does have some minor faults and
annoyances: at times the
scrolling fails to keep pace with
your character. Also, when many
light-generating sprites appear on
the screen, the game meets with
some slowdown, and the amount
of load time as Kain moves
between areas is noticeable and
at times intrusive. This takes
away from the game.

These troubles aside, it took
Crystal over two years to finish
this game, and no wonder,
considering how the high production standards
were maintained with such consistent quality
over such a large game world. The wait for this
bloodsucking hero was well worth it.
Rating:

Feeding on sleeping villagers (left) and crossing
blades with a local soldier is all in a day's work

NCAA Gamebreaker

Publisher: Sony Interactive
Developer: Sony Interactive

From the developers of NFL
Gameday comes the first 32-bit
college football game.
Gamebreaker takes all that made
Gameday a success and mixes in
all that makes college football a
unique experience to create the
best college football game yet.

The only major criticism to be
leveled at the original Gameday —
the somewhat slow pace — is
gone. The engine has been tuned,
and Gamebreaker runs 20% faster
and even features adjustable play
speed. However, the major
advancement in Gamebreaker is
with the computer Al. Each season
game you play goes into the
system's memory, so the next
computer team you play will have
a full scouting report on the plays
you tend to call. In theory, this is
the biggest advancement in sports
games Al in years. Other new
additions, such as the players'
uniforms getting muddy in the rain
or knocking over the chain gang
on a sweep, just add to the overall
realism. Gamebreaker is the best
college football game on the
market and one of the best
football games period.
Rating:

Perfect Weapon

Publisher: ASC Games
Developer: Gray Matter

From the developer who brought
us such unpleasantries as Foes of
Alt for the 3DO and NHL All-Star
Hockey for the Saturn, Gray

Perfect Weapon offers solid
enemies... but poor, poor control

Matter's first combat-adventure
for the PlayStation is grand in
design but less than impressive in
execution.

As champion fighter Blake
Hunter, who's been kidnapped by
aliens, the player must explore
five moons, fighting enemies in
hand-to-hand combat at every
turn. From the third-person
perspective, you explore 3D
environments in a similar fashion
to Resident Evil. However, the
shifting camera in this game is
atrocious in comparison, harking
back to the creaky mechanics of
the Alone in the Dark series,

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rating playstation

which becomes especially
distracting while fighting.

Graphically, the polygonal
characters are well-designed, and
the rendered backgrounds,
especially in the final world, are
excellent. But the foreground can
be confusing to move around in,
in part due to the game's biggest
flaw, the control. The two control
modes enable you to either
explore, as in Resident Evil, or
fight, with mechanics that
attempt to parallel Tekken.
There's a new wrinkle in that,
unlike most fighting games, the
player faces multiple enemies.
However, the control in both
modes is ploddy, and lining up on
your opponents is not nearly as
intuitive as it should be.
Otherwise, the game presents
some attractive music and sound,
with good voice samples. The
load time between areas in a
level is virtually nonexistent.

In total, Blake lists over 100
moves that he acquires through
beating new enemies. But the
elementary movement is stiff.
Coupled with poor camerawork,
this "could have been good" title
becomes frustrating and
borderline average. Considering
how far this game has come
along in development, it's a
shame it wasn't finished right.
Rating: ★*

Spot Goes to Hollywood

Publisher: Virgin Interactive
Developer: Burst

The mascot in question is the
Cool Spot of 7UP fame, the
nondescript product
representative second only to
Jack in the Box's bubble-headed
Jack in dullness. This is, of all
things, a 32-bit port of the 16-bit
title that annoyed us last year,
with no significant upgrades or
extras. This is a real letdown,
considering that the original Cool
Spot of a few years ago was one
of the better side-scrolling action
titles of its era.

The current concept is this:
our hero is inadvertently sucked
into a movie camera and
becomes the star of several
adventures based on movie
plotlines — a Captain Hook-like
battle on a ship, a trip through a
haunted house, and of course the
obligatory Indiana-Jones-inspired
mine cart level. But no matter
what the setting is, the objective
stays the same: pick up spots,
avoid or kill bad guys, and get
through the level. Nothing new
here. At least Mario and Sonic
have some personality, and the
designers of those games
understand that half the fun is
the lure of exploration and the
thrill of discovery. Spot just goes
through the motions.

To add to the list of
grievances, since Spot is in
isometric view and mostly moves
in diagonal directions, control is a
real pain, and the ability to
switch the controls to diagonal
settings just makes it more
confusing. Any 10-year-old (and
it's hard to imagine anyone else
being interested) is bound to
throw down the controller in
disgust after, say, the umpteenth
failure maneuvering Spot along a
narrow rope bridge.

Go back to pushing pop, kid.
Rating: *

Star Gladiator

Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom

It's been suggested that Star
Gladiator, Capcom's first
dalliance in the field of 3D
fighting, is little more than a way
to test the waters for upcoming

great. Certainly, the game is an
encouraging sign of things to
come, but Star Gladiator just
doesn't feel like the dead-on
classic we would expect Capcom
to produce as it moves into the
3D future.
Rating:

StarWinder

Developer: Mindscape
Publisher: Mindscape

Futuristic racing games are all
the rage since the success of
Wipeout on the PlayStation.
Unfortunately, no other title has
approached Wipeout's visuals or
exceptional gameplay, and
StarWinder is no exception.

The game begins with an
initial round of tracks that are
little more than time trials, but it
quickly moves into full races with

located near the rail. The tracks
themselves range from
completely closed caverns (the
beginner levels) to largely open
contorting tracks. Despite this,
players aren't limited to the width
of the track, and it is possible (at
times even necessary) to
completely leave the track.

The soundtrack is excellent
and could have easily fit into a
big screen sci-fi flick, while the
audio samples of lasers firing,
explosions, and ship fly-bys are of
a similarly high quality. Although
the premise of an intergalactic
race is adequate and the
abundant texture maps are pretty,
the control of the ships and play
mechanics simply aren't varied or
engaging enough to hold one's
attention for very long.
Rating: **★

The shape of Capcom to come?
3D warriors in Star Gladiators

3D Street Fighter games such as
Street Fighter Gaiden. While there
is probably some truth to this
theory, Star Gladiator is a pretty
good game all on its own. Ground-
breaking in its use of animated
backgrounds, the galactic
environment of Star Gladiator
could only be described as an
extremely lively one. Whether
fighting in the middle of an active
airfield or in the midst of an
electrified downtown area, the
backgrounds are nearly as
interesting to watch as the fights
themselves.

As for the actual fighting, the
game doesn't carve much new
ground for itself. It does, however,
perform at peak levels of
efficiency in just about every
established category of 3D
fighting. From the lightning-fast
3D movement to the elaborate
throw moves, Sfar Gladiator cuts
no corners in gameplay. The game
does manage to introduce a new
(derivative though it may be)
combo system that enables the
characters to branch combo
chains in a number of different
directions, giving it that much
more of a life span. What's
missing from Star Gladiator,
however, is that magical spark
that separates the good from the

She's half metal and ain't wearing much — if that's the kind of girl you
want to bring home to Mother, then check out Steel Harbinger

other characters, drones, and
various other obstacles thrown in
as chaos factors. Running along
each track is a red power rail,
and staying close to the rail gives
your ship additional power to fly
faster than it ordinarily would. It's
tricky, because the rail doesn't
always stay straight and narrow,
often curving around with a life of
its own, and most of the
obstacles are, predictably,

Equal parts fast racing and
spinning nausea: it's StarWinder

Steel Harbinger

Publisher: Mindscape
Developer: Mindscape

Rarely do shoot 'em ups
effectively combine storyline and
action, but Steel Harbinger has a
plot that actually enhances
gameplay rather than just serve
as an excuse to blow things up
(although, when all is said and
done, the object of the game is
still to blow things up — no one
ever said that wasn't fun).

In the year 2069, the Earth is
being invaded by pods that can
transform organic matter into
mutant metallic beings bent on
destroying humanity. Set in a
three-quarter isometric view with a
third-person perspective, you are
Steel Harbinger, a female half-
human, half-steel mutant in a
combat G-string who happens to
be the only hope for saving
humans from annihilation. The
selection of weapons is
impressive, including a grenade
launcher and a plasma

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* OFFICIAL

This official seal is your
assurance that this product
meets the highest quality
standarcIS^ SEGA. 1 " Buy
games and accessories with
this seal lo^esure that they
are compatible with the
SEGA Saturn™ System.

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SEQA AND SEGA SATURN ARE TRADEMARKS OF SEGA ENTERPRISES, LTD ALL RIGHTS RESUMED. Dragon Force is a trademark of SEGA Enterprises, LTD. Original Game 9 SEGA Enterprises
LTD, 1996. English Translation ©Working Designs 1996. Schwingl For a dealer near you. call (916) 243-3417. Call 1-800-771 -3772 lor IntormatWflbn Game Ratings.

rating saturn

rifle, although many of the
choices seem redundant.

Variety can also be found in
the levels, most of which are set
in major U.S. cities. The objective
in each is roughly the same —
save as many humans as
possible, activate the Net Node
Center, and teleport to another
level. However, the designers
managed to add unique features
to each level, like hopping in a
truck to tool around in Houston,
or driving a boat around water-
logged Los Angeles to find and
rescue power plant workers.

Interaction with the 3D
environment is fairly extensive. If
the character walks around or
into a building, the walls become
transparent. Branches can be
shot from trees and fire hydrants
can be burst with a few well-
aimed shots. Overall, the fast
action adds up to fairly
entertaining gameplay well worth
a peek or two.
Rating: * * *

Street Racer

Publisher: UBI Soft
Developer: Vivid Image

Street Racer was originally a 16-
bit title, a conscious take on
Mario Kart. As such, it wasn't
bad, but then again, it wasn't
great either. In its 32-bit
incarnation, however, while
having changed very little in
concept, it has been upgraded
substantially in execution. The
result is a game that, like the
classic Micro Machines (or for
that matter, Mario Kart), isn't the
most technically advanced or
groundbreaking title of the
season but still manages to be
just plain fun.

And it's not as if the
developers don't pile on the
options: eight cartoonish
characters (plus one hidden), 24
tracks (plus three hidden), and
multiplayer modes up to eight
players in either split screen or
"micro mode," a top-down view
reminiscent of Micro Machines, in
which a car that falls behind the
others is automatically moved
back into the pack (at a penalty,
of course). The controls are
smooth and intuitive, the
animation is sprite-based but
fluid, and the tracks are devious
and challenging. In short, there's
little here you've never played
before, but there's a lot of it, and
it's put together extremely well.
Rating: ****

Tempest X

Publisher: Interplay
Developer: High Voltage
Software

Occasionally, a timeless gaming
concept announces its presence,
and Tempest is, without a doubt.

one of them. Psychedelic master
Jeff Minter dusted off this classic
for the Atari Jaguar in 1994, and
Tempest 2000 almost single-
handedly sustained the failing
system for almost a year.

lap W/jj

There's not much that's new, but
Street Racer sure is fun

Now High Voltage Software
has upped the adrenaline factor
again with the PlayStation
conversion, Tempest X. The game
has a number of graphical
enhancements including light-
sourced, animated, texture-
mapped webs, new enemies, a
remixed Redbook audio
soundtrack, some entirely new
tracks, new power-ups, and more.
At the same time the trippy, melt-
o-vision and pixel-shatter effects
that were so groundbreaking on
the Jaguar have been retained.

As with the original, the
frantic pace of the game all but
puts the player in a trance.
Control is responsive, and replay
value very high with literally
dozens of levels. Games may be
saved via a "key," enabling
players to continue at the last
odd level they completed. Add a
paddle controller and a coin box,
and Tempest X could still stand
proudly in any arcade.
Rating:

Tobal No. 1

Publisher: Sony CE
Developer: Dream Factory

It isn't often that a new game
establishes itself as a major
player in an established genre,
but that is precisely what Tobal
No. 1 has accomplished with its
innovative gameplay and unique
graphic approach.

Although the character
design in Tobal No. 1 isn't as
readily appealing as those in the
Street Fighter or Virtua Fighter
series, each of the fighters
possesses a particular fighting
style that's perfectly
complemented by an original
control interface that is
instinctive, yet challenging.

Moves are initiated by an
elegant combination of directional
taps and button inputs that
enable the character to jump,
block, hold, throw, and attack. An
in-depth counter system even
allows for reversals that are
influenced by such factors as
angle of attack and the actual
physical makeup of the opponent.
As if these elements weren't
enough, Tobal No. 1 also allows
for unrestricted movement in the
game's 3D environment by the
player's choice on the directional
pad. The entire control interface
is simple, intuitive, and brilliant.
There Is little to complain about
in regards to Tobal No. 1, but the
computer Al in one-player mode is
relatively simple and doesn't
come close to matching the
entertainment value provided by
two-player battles.

The unique approach
displayed in Tobal'% gameplay is
also mirrored in the approach
taken for the game's graphics.
Instead of following the popular
trend of featuring fully rendered,

texture-mapped characters, the
developers of Tobal instead opted
for flat-shaded graphics and high
resolution, seamless 60fps
animation. The result may look
somewhat Spartan, but the trade-
off is gameplay that is the
epitome of smoothness.
Rating:

Saturn

Krazy Ivan

Publisher: Sega
Developer: Psygnosis

Not one of Psygnosis's best
efforts even on the PlayStation,
Krazy Ivan for the Saturn is the
perfect middle-of-the-road title.
The emphasis of this first-person
shooter is on battling one or two
larger mechs at a time, as
opposed to the swarming
beasties of typical Doom-style
games, and in this the game
shows some promise. Battling
single foes does enable the game
to successfully implement
different fighting styles for each

First-person shooting in a barren
wasteland is pretty much the
extent of Krazy Ivan's appeal.

"Whoa man, I'm peakin' again... Uh oh... Hang on... Wait a minute...
Everything's okay. Turns out I'm just playing Tempest X... No problem...

of the enemies. Where the action
falls short, however, is in the
barren and repetitive nature of
the environments. Though the
map-screen would have you
believe you are traveling all over
the world to do battle, each
exotic location inevitably ends up
looking a lot like the surface of
the moon. On balance, the game
never makes it over the hump of
mediocrity.

Compared to the original
PlayStation version, Krazy Ivan for
the Saturn is a reasonably close
port, but, as usual, the graphics

Next Generation OnUne, hitp: //www. next -generation. com/

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rating saturn

Saturn

SNAKES
ALIVE

More than just " Virtua Fighter with strange characters,
Fighting Vipers is top notch

Fighting Vipers

Publisher: Sega
Developer: AM2

Considering the success Sega achieved with Virtua Fighter 2, Fighting Vipers has
the unenviable challenge of being the follow-up to what many considered to be the
greatest fighting game of all time. In fact, initial impressions of those who have
played Fighting Vipers often is "It's VF2 with weirder characters." But the cookie-
cutter is one tool that the AM2 development team has little familiarity with, and
despite similarities to VF2, Fighting Vipers boasts a plethora of added gameplay
elements and strategic possibilities that gives the game a character all its own.

Graphically, Fighting Vipers lacks some crispness and detail that marked the
remarkable console conversion of Virtua Fighter 2. But Fighting Vipers does boast

' true light-sourcing, which gives the game a grittier, edgier appearance over VF2's

clean, almost cartoonish graphics, and pushes the Saturn to the edge of its capabilities. What has not been compromised in the conversion
to the home is the amazingly smooth animation of the characters.

But what truly distinguishes Fighting Vipers is its depth of gameplay. As opposed to VF2,
every character in Fighting Vipers has the ability to move out of the plane of battle and into the 3D
environment. Ring outs are replaced with walls that add a whole new dimension to strategy by
letting players inflict additional damage by slamming opponents into them, and some characters
have the ability to climb the wall to initiate special moves. As if that weren't enough, there are
numerous enhancements in Fighting Vipers that augment the already spectacular VF2-based control
interface. Mid-air throws, unique wall-utilizing attacks, ground attacks, reversals, power-up attacks,
and, of course, body armor (and special armor destroying attacks) are just a few of the elements
that mark the intense and punishing nature of the gameplay in Fighting Vipers.

Any complaints about Fighting Vipers can be considered nit-picky at best. The single-player
game is just a tad easy, and the number of characters is merely adequate as opposed to generous.
But all in all, Fighting Vipers is a game that adds to an already impressive gameplay foundation. The
ultimate crime would be for this title to be overshadowed by the reputation of its predecessor. Mark
our words, VF2 is one of the best games of all time, but Fighting Vipers nearly eclipses it.
Rating: *****

The armor and enclosed rings add
new, unique strategic elements

Saturn

BASES COVERED

World Series Baseball II
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega (Japan)

This follow up to last years groundbreaking World Series Baseball could have been
either a major disappointment, or simply the same game with new stats.
Thankfully, it's neither. WSBII features every major league stadium (up from four
last year) and each one looks perfect. Even the buildings in the skyline have been
perfectly recreated. The amazing detail makes each new park you play in a new
experience. There simply isn't a baseball game anywhere that looks this good.
As for the play, the arcade-style pitching is back but has been toned down
considerably. You can no longer move
a pitch in two directions, and the
amount of curve isn't nearly as
unrealistic. The only major error from
the original WSB for the Saturn that
didn't get completely corrected is
the complete inability to get a double
or triple — even a ball in the gap still
doesn't guarantee a double.

No this isn't a picture from the ALCS, it's actual
gameplayl Mighty impressive and a sheer joy

The Green Monster and all the league
stadiums are captured like never before

There's no baseball game that looks, plays, or feels as good as WSB II. The graphics are so
crisp and clean that it makes the competitors look like 16-bit games. The two-player game is
incredible and, while the one-player game may lack some sim options, the speed of play enables you
to get through a season without becoming bored. A must for any baseball fan, WSB II is at the top
of this year's baseball line-up.
Rating: i

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rating pc

are not quite as sharp and the
special effects have been
modified {or perhaps it's more
accurate to say down-graded).
The gameplay, however, is still as
sharp as ever, making this a
respectable but unexciting game
for the Saturn library.
Rating: **

Quarterback Club '97

Publisher: Acclaim
Developer: Iguana

Clearly the graphics don't
compare favorably with Madden
'97 or Gameday, but they are a
huge improvement on last year's
version. The problem is that the
players are extremely pixilated in
both the Saturn and PlayStation
versions, but at least the

Quarterback Club is good, but
not good enough for the majors

PlayStation version has brighter
colors. The developers also spent
almost no time on the
presentation of the game, which
is something Madden '97 has
perfected. The last and most
crucial problem with QBC '97 is
the slow gameplay. Compared to
Madden '97, it looks like the
players are running underwater.

Although the slowed play
prevents QBC '97from being the
best football game of the year, it is
without a doubt the most
important game of the year. The
advances made in tackling are
astonishing and should be in every
football game. The players don't
just run into each other and then
lie on the ground; instead the
players actually wrap their arms
around the ball-carriers and drag
them to the ground. And what's
even more amazing is that it's not
the same animation each time, it
depends on what part of the body
the tackle is made at and the
momentum of the players.

Throw in the ability to play as
any player on the team, numbers
on the jerseys, and some
impressive Al, and you have what
is the best one-player football
game available. However, until
the developers can speed up play
and clean up the graphics, QBC
isn't the compelling two-player
experience that Madden '97 is.
Rating: ***

Street Fighter Alpha 2

Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom

If there's one thing the Saturn
can do especially well (even
better than the PlayStation and
N64, in fact), it's 2D fighting

games. Combine this cozy
technological environment with
Capcom's long history of
expertise in the field and you're
likely to come up with yet another
exceptional 2D fighting
experience. This is, of course, the
case with the latest installment
of the Street Fighter Alpha series.

The most significant
enhancement made by this sequel
to a prequel is the introduction of
a custom combo system. Beyond
the traditionally sound combo
system in use in all the Sfreet
Fighter games, this new feature
enables players to jump into what
can only be described as "super-
hyper" mode during which they
can unload a string of moves sure
to rattle even the most advanced
players.

Outside of the custom combo
system and a few other minor
enhancements, the game is
pretty much just more of a good
thing, but at least it's that. The
animation is top-notch, the
characters are extremely well-
balanced, and the action is as
fast as you'd ever want it to be. If
you're a fan of the series, you
probably didn't wait around to
read this review anyway, and if
you're not yet a fan, it may be
about time you become one.
Rating: ****

3D Baseball

Publisher: TBA

Developer: Crystal Dynamics

The second and most recent
sports title from Crystal
Dynamics may not be the best
baseball game on the market, but
3D Baseball does contribute
significantly to the genre. For the
first time in a baseball game, the
polygon players look real (with
the exception of the skinny
forearms), and the motion-capture
really lends credibility to the idea
of a polygonal baseball game.

Seeing Jose Canseco step to the
plate with his real stance is
something we should start seeing
in every baseball game. Other
great animations like catching
the ball and sweeping down for a
tag are the best we've seen.

Unfortunately, beyond the
technological advancements, 3D
Baseball is just an average game.
The four phony stadiums are
solid, but the play is a little slow
and the simulation value can't
compare with front-runners like
Triple Play '97.
Rating: ***

Circle of Blood

Publisher: Virgin Interactive
Entertainment
Developer: Revolution

George Stobbart is an innocent
American tourist, out enjoying
the wonders of Paris when he is
literally rocked by an explosion
at the cafe where he's enjoying
his afternoon coffee. As he
investigates the explosion, the
subsequent adventure changes
the course of not only his life,
but history.

The graphics are beautiful,
hand-drawn by artists formerly of
Don Bluth's studio, the outfit
responsible for All Dog's go to
Heaven and laserdisc arcade
games Dragon's Lair and Space
Ace. The ten-layer eel animation
is fantastic, and character
movements, scrolling, and
cinematic cut-scenes are all a
joy to watch. Much care has
been put into integrating cut
scenes with game play, and the
player moves seamlessly from
one to the other, with neither
jarring breaks in the action nor
major changes in graphic style or
quality — a nice touch more
designers should emulate.

The story is rich in mystery
and intrigue, taking the player all

over Europe and into the Middle
East. It involves the Knights
Templar (a mystical religious
order founded during the
Crusades), some nasty killers,
and more than few puzzles.

And that's where the game
falls a little flat. The interface is
simple, which is a good thing,
but in general so are the puzzles.
One or two may take you by
surprise, but most are standard
graphic adventure fare — find
the object, use the object on
something else. Still, while
Circle of Blood may not be the
toughest graphic adventure out
there, its story and graphics
make it well worth playing.
Rating: ***★

Links LS

Publisher: Access
Developer: Access

Links 386 has long dominated the
PC golf market, but over the last
year or so, it was beginning to
show its age. However, Access
hasn't remained idle; the release
of Links LS — what was to be
named Links Pentium — has put

With Links LS, Accolade Is once
again leading the pack

them once again at the top of the
PC golfing heap.

Links LS is a tour de force of
PC graphics, able to support
screen resolutions of 1600x1200
or higher and up to 16.7 million
colors. You don't have to play in
these resolutions of course, and in

In Circle of Blood, weird things start to happen right from the beginning
with a massive, deadly explosion in a French cafe

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.nexI-generation.com/

rating pc

THE BOX
STOPS HERE

The Pandora Directive

Publisher: Access Software
Developer: Access Software

Tex Murphy is back, and in this six-CD, four-gigabyte video adventure, you can rest assured that
there's a whole lot more gameplay than in Under A Killing Moon, the first title in the series. This time,

ll-star cast joins creator Chris Jones. For a

The detail of the game is astounding, from the iush
furnishings to the starry skyline

CD-ROM title, this is one impressive group of
actors: John Agar, of Fort Apache fame, joins
Kevin McCarthy [Invasion of the Body
Snatchers), Tanya Roberts [Sheena, Queen of
the Jungle), and Barry Corbin,
the lovable Maurice Minnifield from
"Northern Exposure."

Perhaps surprisingly, the game itself is
impressive as well. The three-dimensional
interface is smooth, although it takes a bit of
getting used to. The story is well-written, with
sight-gags as well as some more subtle humor
to add laughs to the suspense. There are two
play modes; Entertainment and Game Players.
In Entertainment mode, players have access
to hints and can even bypass a particularly
difficult puzzle. The Game Players mode
allows no cheating and even throws in a
few extra puzzles.

These puzzles, however, are the single

biggest fault of the game. Some of them are just too difficult, requiring unbelievable stretches
of imagination and leaps in logic to find the solution. It's highly unlikely any player will finish
the game without
consulting the hint
guide at least once.

However, the rush
of success after solving
a difficult puzzle is
almost — almost —
worth the effort. The
Pandora Directive mixes
humor, adventure, and
action into a well-
crafted and well-acted
whole. Adventure
gamers couldn't ask
for anything more.
Rating: *★*★

If puzzles get too difficult, such as the Black Moon,
it's possible to skip ft by choosing to play in
Entertainment Mode

This here's Tex Murphy. He may not be much to
look at, but he gets the job done

fact most people can't, but this
does mean the game's graphics
will be viable through several
hardware upgrade cycles.

Furthermore, Links LS
supports and upgrades all the
many popular add-on disks that
were available for Links 386.
Millions of these bonus courses
were sold, so Links LS users won't
have to wait for new courses
because dozens are already
available. And it gives golf fans a
strong incentive to pick up Links
LS as opposed to the competition.

Other features include
customizable sound files and a
variety of play modes from stroke
play to skins; future add-on disks
will feature new motion-captured
golfers, new courses, and video
tours of golf resorts.

Probably the biggest knock
against LS is its steep system
requirements: you'll want at a bare
minimum a P90 with 16MB of
RAM and a 2MB video card. But
for the well-equipped golf fan, it
doesn't get any better.
Rating: **+★

The Neverhood

Publisher: Dreamworks
Interactive

Developer: The Neverhood

What do you get when you take
Gumby and add a bunch of point-
and-click puzzles? You get The
Neverhood, a graphic adventure
that, while it tries really hard for
laughs, is more often than not
ground to a halt by the puzzles
that make it a game.

The interface is completely
point and click, with no inventory
or score to deal with. Most of the
game is solving puzzles, from the

I While graphically stunning, The
Neverhood doesn't quite deliver

slide-the-tile, iVfyst-like affairs to
some more creative, and usually
explosive, challenges, all in the
service of guiding a gangly,
strangely tubular-headed
character named Klayton through
a series of adventures. The
graphics are indeed stunning —
the design work is unique and
inventive to say the least, and
these oddly-shaped clay
characters really come to life on
the monitor. As long as you have
at least the minimum Pentium
75, it runs beautifully.

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.nexl-generation.com/

TOMB

rating pc

Conversations are (above) created by
choosing from a list of words and a tone of
speaking. Fairly clunky at first, it becomes
more streamlined when you get the hang
of it. The towns (right) really make
Daggerfall shine, especially since you can
jump from roof to roof just for kicks

THE
OLDEST

Daggerfall enables you to create your own
character. You can even custom-create
a new profession

3351

The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Developer; Bethesda Softworks

Well, it's been almost three years in the making, not the record for this industry, but plenty long enough. The obvious question is, was it
worth waiting for? The opening screens aren't exactly auspicious: the character creation system is similar to its predecessor The Elder
Scrolls: Arena, although there are more options to enable players to more fully tailor game personas to their liking. Also, when the game
starts, the first dungeon players face might seem a bit underwhelming — after all, the textures on the walls were mostly created three years
ago, and they show their age.

But start moving around. Kill a few creatures with a smooth stroke of the mouse. Hit that M key for an automap of the dungeon, and
check out the fully 3D map. It takes some getting used to, but with a little practice, you'll read dungeons like a book.

And once you get to a city, the graphics don't look nearly so primitive. Buildings are everywhere. Hundreds of people, with their own
names and professions, wander the landscape. They all
have a purpose in the world and will speak to you in their
own personal way. As you explore Daggerfall, you'll
discover the world is whole, complete, self-contained, and
fully detailed. Rumor has it that development finally ended
only because the designers reached the limit of game data
that could be stored on a single CD-ROM disk — this is a
b/g world. The beta testers must have bought No-Doz by
the case.

Pointing out flaws is pure nit-picking: how come you
don't tie your horse up when you dismount? How come
there's no text-parser interface to let you ask characters
about specific names or places not on the keyword list?
But given that no computer game can completely mimic
the ins and outs of real life, Daggerfall comes as close as
anything ever has, and contains an exciting, heroic,
suspenseful, and above all else, entertaining story. It's a
testament to the game, however, that you may or may not
follow the story as you wish. Instead, simply carve a niche
for yourself out of the world and live it. If you've been one
of the many gamers waiting for the world of Tamriel to
come alive again, the wait is over. And it is, hands down,
worth it.
Rating: *****

■

Get used to these dungeons. A lot of adventuring is spent prowling dark places
like this one. "Like Doom except?" you ask? Sort of a thinking man's Doom

Next Generation Online, hup; //www. neit-geneiation.com/

rating arcade

Without a doubt, The
Neverhood is a breakthrough in
computer game art — it's a world
apart, with no real antecedants
on PC, and a nice break from the
g!ut of medieval fantasy and sci-fi
backgrounds that normally mark
gaming. It's also very slowly
paced, and the puzzles just aren't
exciting enough to carry it all the
way through.
Rating: ***

NHL '97

Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Sports

The best-looking, fastest-moving,
hardest-hitting hockey game on
the PC is without a doubt NHL
'97. This latest triumph from EA
Sports features motion-captured,
polygon-modeled characters that
are unbelievably realistic. They
shake their sticks, throw punches,
and slam into each other like so
many bowling pins skidding
across the ice. And the game
moves fast too — sometimes so
fast, you can barely keep your eye
on the puck.

Control is simple and
intuitive, and the selection of
views will please even the most
finicky player. Season and
exhibition play, multiple difficulty
levels, even player creation — it's
all there. You can set penalties, or
even turn off icing and offsides if
you want a really fast game. And
with a Gravis GRiP system, eight
players can play on two
computers. Players tire, and the
teams definitely play at their
ability level — the Detroit Red
Wings and the other good teams
look like they know what they're
doing, while the San Jose Sharks
look like, well, the San Jose
Sharks, floundering about
helplessly.

I EA Sports's NHL '97 Is easily the
best hockey game for PC

The fighting sequences are
impressive at first giance, but the
players punch too slowly and
unimaginatively to get worked up
about this. Maybe in the next go-
round EA will add in a mini-fighting
game, and the blood will really fly.

The rules of hockey are easy
to learn, particularly in a game
like this. So if you've been looking
for a good PC hockey game, look
no further than NHL '97.
Rating: ***★

Arcade

COMIC

X-Men Vs.
Street Fighter

Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom

Reaching into its rich 2D palette of fighting games, Capcom
has possibly created one of the least original games it's
developed in a long while, X-Men Vs. Street Fighter. It's best
just to say that this game is a weird blend of fighting styles,
with unexpected results.

Employing the CPS2 board for the umpteenth time and
maximizing its animation qualities and speed, the developers
at Capcom have enabled two-player tag-team fights with
choices of 17 players (eight X-Men and eight Street Fighter
characters, plus surprise character Akura) in a game that
weighs in favor of playing more like X-Men: Children of the
Atom than SF Alpha II. In fact, playing X-Men Vs. Street
Fighter is like playing Street Fighter Alpha on the strongest of
steroids. Ken and Ryu are now able to Dragon Punch 15 feet
off the ground; their fireballs are huge and damaging, while
massive 15-hit aerial combos are the norm. This aspect is
nicely enforced by the tag-team aspect that supports a wide
variety of players as well as seeking out the opposing
characters' weaknesses. But this game may put off SF
purists, because it leans more heavily toward the whirlwind
button-mashing so prevalent in X-Men.

New attack variations are also prevalent: hyper combos,
advancing guards (and reciprocal guard breaks), Fusion
Combos and Counters. The subtle Counters break characters
free from super attacks, while the Fusion Combos are loud and
damaging — both characters appear on screen at once for a
full onslaught of projectile force.

X-Men Vs. Street Fighter is a fun game, but it's just a bit
of an overdose of the
kind of game of
which we've already
played way too
much.

Rating: ***

Cammy Vs. Juggernaut (top) ? It could happen... Capcom's
march in the direction of bigger and more explosive projectiles
continues — enjoy it if you really feel the need (above)

Macintosh

Infocom Masterpieces

Publisher: Activlsion
Developer: Infocom

Once again, Activision has re-
released a "complete" collection
of Infocom text adventures.
Technically, it isn't complete:
Activision replaced the colorful
manuals with e-documents right
on the CD — score one for the
environment and one against
ease of use. Also, Shogun is still
missing, although since it's
universally regarded as having
sucked, that's no great loss.
However, with Arthur: The Quest
for Excalibur and Journey finally
making the leap onto CD-ROM,
this collection can be considered
functionally comprehensive

This hybrid CD, which works
on both PC and Mac, simply
represents the pinnacle of well
written, interactive fiction. If you
want deep gameplay and want to
see what adventure games could
be (they certainly aren't at this
level today), you want this disc. It
has 32 games, promising 1,200
hours of gameplay (minimum) —
not bad. And neither are the six
additional bonus titles — original
games that were winners of an
annual Interactive Fiction contest
held on the net. Very cool, and a
gamer's must-have.
Rating: *****

SORRY!

No new games
were made
available for
review this month
on the following
systems

Nintendo 64

Genesis

Virtual Boy

Neo Geo

Super NES

Next Generation OnUne, http;//www,nexl-generation.com/

SPANDEMONIUMl

Pla yStation

You have the POWER. In this contest you don't rely on the luck-of-the
draw. You determine if you win or not. You win by outscoring others in a game of
skill. Can you solve the puzzle below? Then you have what it takes. It looks simple,
but it's only the start. Each of five more puzzles gets a little harder. But this time it's
all up to you. Stay in to the end with the highest score and the gear is yours.
With whatever options you want. Do you have what it takes? Then play to win!

Computer Contest Win a blazing fast computer with 200 Mhz Pentium,
16 meg. RAM, 2.3 Gig. HD, 8X CD-ROM, 17" monitor, Windows 95, modem and more!

Video Game Contest. Play on the hi-tech cutting edge with this line-up:
Sony Playstation; Sega Saturn; Virtual Boy; 3D0; and Nintendo 64! Get all five or
trade the ones you don't want for CASH! Bonus options include: 33 inch monitor,
SI ,000 in games, cash, accessories and more!

Media Rig Contest. The Ultimate Gaming Environment, 40 inch monitor,
130 watt receiver w/ Dolby Digital Surround Sound, and all components shown.
Win DSS Satellite Receiver as a BONUS OPTION! This rig will blow you away!!

We're talldn' GAMING HEAVEN!

Directions. Fill in the Mystery Word Grid with words going across that spell
out the Mystery Word down the side. Hint: use the Mystery Word Clue.
In the future. There will be four more puzzles at $2.00 each and one tie-
breaker at $1.00 which will be sent to you by mail. You will have 3 weeks to solve
each puzzle. We don't know how many will play but typically 55% will have the
highest score possible score to Phase 1, 43% to Phase II, 36% to Phase III, and 32%
to Phase IV. The tie-breaker determines the winner. If players are still tied they will
split the value of the grand prize they are playing for.

Mystery
Word
Grid

— s

w 5

| ENTER ME TODAY, HERE'S MY ENTRY FEE:

□ ($3.00) Computer Contest

□ ($3.00) Video Game Contest

□ ($3.00) Media Rig Contest

□ ($5.00) SPECIAL! Enter them all (SAVE $4.00)

Name

Address

WORD LIST and LETTER CODE chart

PINCH

..W PRESS...

...K BLAST ...

...A WRECK.

BREAK

...Z PUNCH.

...S SPRAY..

...C TURBO..

STOMP

...T STAND..

...R PRESS...

E DREAM.

..O

CRUSH.

....1 SCORE..

..H SLANT..

...L CHASE..

,,.P

MYSTERY WORD CLUE:

WOULD RULERS HAVE IT AND IN THIS CONTEST YOU HAVE IT

City

State

-^IP-

V0IOWH6REPB0HI8ITED •
Only one entry pef person. '

• ENTRY DEADLINE- POSTMARKED BY FEB. tSTH. 1917 • ENTRY FEE MUST BE INCLUDED
under 30 years old to win Employees of Pandemonium, Inc. and Us suppliers are
ineligible. Judges decisions are final. If judges are in errorifre sponsor's liability is limited 10 entry lees paid. Not responsible
lor tost or delayed mail. Open to residents of the U.S. and Canada. You can request Winners List and Official Roles by writing
Pandemonium, Inc. 7204 Washington Aye. S., Eden Prairie, MN 5534*. Merchandise names and models are ttaderrtatfcs of their
respective companies who, along witn this magazine, have no affiliation with this contest © 1336 Pandemonioro, Inc.

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Only the Cool Need Apply

WE CHALLENGE YOl

If you're creative enough, you could win

Write a function in 'C to "creatively" shuffle a deck of cards.

Send contest source code via email to resumes@inlerplav.com or via disc to the address below and include your
resume. One winner will be chosen based on creativity and code stability by our panel of experts and will
receive SI 00 and an interplay T-shirt. Entry must be received by February '28th, 1997. Winner will be notified
by phone in March 1997. All submissions'must be completely original material and become the prop
interplay Productions Inc. Submissions will not be returned. Offer void where prohibited.

Opportunities also available: 2D/3D Artists/Animators • Producei
Game Designers • Sr. Sound Designer • Field Recorder

Send resume/ samples/ demo/ entry: Development Coordinator, attn.:NG2
16815 Von Karman, Irvine, CA 92606 email resumes@interplay.coi

WANTED:

GAME PROGRAMMER

GAME DEVELOPMENT - START TO COMPLETION
• 3D SIMULATION
• C

• UNIX HELPFUL
• Al HELPFUL

CONTACT: ADAM SPINDELL

RHYTHM & HUES STUDIOS

5404 JANDY PIACE • LOS ANGELES, CA 90066 • FAX 310 448-7600 • ADAMiRHVTHM.COM

GREAT GAME IDEAS HAVE TO
START SOMEWHERE.

TO ENTER

Write a review of a recent videogame in 500 words or
less, expressing your ideas of how to improve the
videogame using available technology; Submit your legi-
ble review on 8 1/2" x 11" paper (no naplHn« please).
Yon may include up to four 3" X 3" sketches or pictures
to illustrate respective points of your review. Attach a
cover sheet which includes your name, address, and
phone number to UACT Scholarship Contest, P.O. Box
418, Brisbane, CA 94005. The selection committee will
choose a winner based on his or her ability to commu-
nicate creative ideas within a cohesive, captivating, and
articulate manner. . « __.>" j

The first prize Scholarship awarded, is a half-tuition
scholarship to attend the University's Bachelor of Arts
degree program in Midtimedik/Virtual Reality, and is
valued at approximately $16,090. The retnamderijitfj^
tuition, books, supplies and living costs remain
responsibility of the scholarshipuy/ard winner.

Transportation to and living arrangements hi Los
Angeles during the eight week inurnshlp at Player* 1-
will be the sole responsibility of thV$econd Phtce win-*

•***•»'). r- ,

CONTEST REQUIREMENT^

Applicants must be at least 17 years ol age andrawt
high school diploma or the education^, equivalent

(GAD.).

Should the scholarship winner be nnderihe age of 1&
legal guardian must sign all admission agreements and
financial responsibility statement.

Scholarship recipient must be able to prov.
of Scholarship Aptitude Test (SAT) with a
score of 820 or evidence of ACT score,
of 19 or they must agree to complete a Gem
(Wonderlic) test, to be administered by th<

minimum score of 17.

Non VS. residei

WIN A $16,000
CH0LARSHIP

Bachelor of Arts degree In Multimedia/Virtual reality at the
of Advancing Computer Technology.

Your great ideas aren't worth
the napkin you scribbled them
on unless you have the skills
to make them work. This is
your chance to learn how
to turn great ideas into
great products.

2ND PRIZE

One second
place winner
will receive an eight week
internship at Player 1.

t provide evidence or prabciency
in English, and be prepared to provide proof of
cud support while attending college upon notifies)
of scholarship reward.

One entry per person. Entries must be received by
February 15, 1996. Entries become the property of
Generation and Int er acti v e Development.

The decision of the committee is final.

Prizes awarded as described, no substitutes.
Sponsors' employees and their immediate families as
well as students currently attending the Univers i ty of
Advancing Computer Technology are not eligible for
prizes.

PLAYER 1

Player 1 is a Los Angeles based software
company currently developing games for
the Nintendo64 m .

uni r sr. n B i i i

Advancing Computer Technology

UNIVERSITY OF ADVANCING
COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY

Located in Phoenix, AZ, The University of
Advancing Computer Technology is home
to approximately 900 full-time students.
Their Bachelor degree program includes
course work in Adobe software, 3D studio,
Fractal Painter, World Tool Kit, C and
C++ programming, visual basic, and
Macromedia software.

INTERACTIVE DEVELOPMENT
Interactive Development is a Los Angeles
based recruitment company for the game
industry. Contact: Sean Lord
ph: (213) 460-4900 fax: (213) 460-4911

THE ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME

IS WAITING FOR YOU NOW!

We are currently seeking:

• Team / Group leaders

• Designers and animators - 3D and SGI

Graphics and animation programmers
C, C++, assembly

Computer Entertainment Chicago Inc.
continues to lead the industry in quality
ainment software development for both
iimer and Coin Op markets. We'll give you the
leading "edge. , equipment plus the no-
holds-barred freedom you heed to create tomor-
hit games. Along witttsair-af this you'll get
rewards of a terrific pay and benefits pack-
' age. Relocation assistance is also provided.

Experience the Hottest Interactive
Rule in the Gaming Industry!

Activision has been burning rubber as one of the fastest growing
interactive entertainment companies in the world. Consequently, we have
super-charged job opportunities for high-octane individuals.

Oirector^lJj

Trade mameung

You'll manage retail relationships with all
channels of distribution in North America.
Responsibilities include the management
of our cooperative advertising, in-store
promotions and merchandising services.
You'll work with our sales force, product
management teams and promotions
department to create innovative trade
programs with retailers of video games
and computer software. Undergraduate
degree required, MBA preferred.

Product^"**

You'll be responsible for making sure that
your titles sell through the roof. Extensive
experience managing the marketing effort
for interactive software is required. P&L
budgetary experience is also critical and
an MBA is preferred.

SWtiioBeoruner

Your job is to reel in the heavy hitters for
Activision Studios. You should have 2-5
years experience in technical and creative
recruiting for an interactive games publisher.
Interpersonal skills are definitely your
strengths, and you should have a proven
ability to meet deadlines (including those
that continually change).

Activision offers a competitive salary, stock option and benefits package. Send your resume and salary history
Attn.: Human Resources, via fax 310.477.2735, e-mail hr@activision.com or mail to Activision, 11601 Wilshire Blvd. Ste. 300., L.A., CA 90025.
Resumes with salary requirement given first consideration. No dupe resumes if faxed. No phone calls, please. EOE. Principals only.

Are you a |pEfi)@ addict? Have you

played every game out there
and are still astaf f@? In/W®? Do
you have a joystick growing out of
the palm of your hand?

Electronic Arts and Origin Systems are seeking
computer knowledgeable gamers. We have
testing and technical support positions available
for individuals with strong knowledge or skills in:
PC troubleshooting, customer service, PC gaming
industry, EA and Origin games.

Ik Send your resume to:

Ml Electronic Arts

J Attn: Human Resources-NG
1450 Fashion Island Blvd.
San Mateo, CA 94404
Fax:(415)513-7160
: resumes@ea.com

Origin Systems, Inc.

Attn: Human Resources-NG
5918 West Court Dr.
Austin, TX 78730
Fax: (512)346-7905
Email:nvargas®origin.ea.com

EDUCATIONAL Ol'I'OUTUNITY

want to?

Authoring • Programming • Animation
Digital Audio • Computer Graphics

1.800.592.0700

http : / /www . ai i . edu

The Art Institutes International®

Top Programming Talent

Stormfront Studios is a leading developer of top-quality, award -winning
games for multimedia and on-line markets. Stormfront has worked with
top publishers such as Electronic Arts, Sony and America Online. Our
titles include Tony LaRussa Baseball 3, Andretti Racing, Star Trek: Deep
Space Nine, John Madden Football, and the America Online multi-player
game Neverwinter Nights. We specialize in state-of-the-art sports simula-
tions, edutainment, storytelling, arcade-style, and multi-player on-line
games. The following opportunities are available:

Lead Programmers (PSX & PC) I Sr. PC Game Programmer I PC Game Programmer
Sr. PSX Programmer I PSX Programmer I Sr. On-line Programmer
On-line Programmer I Sr. Saturn Programmer! Saturn Programmer

If you enjoy finding creative solutions to complex problems and want to
make a difference in this industry, we would like to talk to you. We are
looking for talented, hard-working, self-motivated individuals who would
enjoy collaborating with some of the top game and multimedia talent in
the industry. Ours is an open environment of small, mixed-discipline
development teams, where high standards are respected and contributions
are recognized. Top pay, benefits and participation in the stock options
program for our privately held company.

STORMFRONT STUDIOS
Attn: Marti Daglow I 4040 Civic Center Dr. i San Rafael, CA 94903-4191
Phone: 415-461-5845 ■ Fax:415-461-3865
E-mail: MDaglow@aol.com ■ Website: http://www.stormlront.com

Embark with us on a project so
secret... it has its own sauce.

Well, not really.

But we're making something cool. Honest.

Wanderlust Interactive, Inc. is currently seeking programmers.

All candidates should have a strong knowledge of C++, STL and

the Win32 API.

Production Management Tools (2 positions)

Gin Tools (3 positions)

■ Poet 4.0 In Client/Server configuration

■ Linear Algebra and Geometry

. MS Office ond MS Project automation

■ data-structures

using VBA, Delphi and MFC

• MFC and Ul programming

■ Exchange Client anc! Server [MAPI)

Sound (1 position)

programming using MFC

• Musical Background (engineer or musician]

• knowledge of software development

■ Psych oacoustic algorithms

process models is a plus

• DireclSound

. IIS ISAP!

• Knowledge of Miles Sound System a plus

ODBM5 (3 positions)

Knowledge -Base [1 position)

• distributed information stores

■ general expertise in knowledge

• information duplication ond synchronization

representation

■ migrating objects

• Prolog++ and knowledge inheritance

• information shadowing

Framework (1 position)

■ message based run-time binding

. COM and Internet Explorer 3.0 Interfaces

• strong OOD capabilities [knowledge of

. Play-In API Netscape

patterns ar ^ unified notation a must)

Graphics Subsystem (3 positions)

■ knowledge of the Windows NT security
model o plus

. PPro Assembler

• MMX extension a plus

Tools (2 positions)

Class Library (1 position)

• strong MFC

■ very strong OOD knowledge

. Ul programming

■ data -structures and algorithms

■Java

■ knowledge of at least three commercial

■ OpenGL

• COM and Shell Interfaces

■ Smalltalk, Java, CLOS

. DCOM and MS RFC

Fax resume

to Dept. 315,

Wanderlust Interactive, Inc., 212.431.8807

or mail to P.O. Box 832, New

York, NY 10013 {no calls please)

Go Wanderlust.

Intelligent 1

Feed your brain.

rot & Games™

TIBURON

E*N T E R T A I N M E<N T

If you aren't with us,
you're starting to look a lot like dinner,...

Hungry?

We are... For motivated programmers,
artists, and network engineers. Join our school of talent
that has been hard at work on such Electronic Arts games
as Soviet Strike ™ and Madden NFL'97.

Please submit resume and demo reel/code samples to:
Tiburon Entertainment, HR Dept.
P.O.Box 940427 - Mailland, FL 32794-0427
(407)660-6901 FAX • http://wifjw.tibent.com

TIBURON

Cyclops Software is the creator of
the revolutionary new genre of games. Desktop
Toys™, and is working with some of the
top names in the interactive entertainment
business. We are looking for talented
individuals with the creativity and motivation
to help us create the next onslaught
of entertainment software.

3D & 2D Artists and Graphic Designers

Games and Tools Programmers
Team Leaders and Production Assistants

Send you resume to:

Cyclops Software, Human Resources
1543 7" Street, #301, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Fax: 310-656-8488

Email: cortex@cris.com

corresponding

Writing letters is therapeutic! We want readers to enjoy the best mental health, so get those weighty
thoughts off your chest. Contact us at: Next Generation Letters, 150 North Hill Drive, Brisbane, CA
94005. Fax us: (415) 468-4686. E-mail us: ngonline@imagine-inc.com

Everyday is a read letter day

cannot believe the
comments made by Mr.
Yamauchi of Nintendo on
pg. 30 of NG 20. Maybe
something was lost in the
translation:"Most of the users
who have bought 32-bit machines

Nintendo's Mr. Yamauchi is
after your children. No, really

for ($280 to $370), I believe, were
older game players with their
own money to spend. But we
won't be making any money by
going after those users. Nintendo
will target younger users,
elementary school or junior high
school students, who can't buy
games with their own money."

Does this comment make
sense to anybody? How can you
gear a $250 game system with
$70+ games to kids who would
be just as happy running through
a sprinkler in the front yard?

Linda Ryan
Laud23@gnn.com

But this is exactly the same
strategy that got Nintendo
where it is today — with $5
billion in the bank, just in case.

Oidn't the same situation
that is currently
happening with Nintendo

64 and Super Mario 64 happen
with the Super NES and Super
MarloWorld 1 . Didn't Shigeru
Miyamoto, his big budget non-
stop development team, and his
great imagination create the best
Mario game to date when the
Super NES came out? And when
the Super Nintendo did come
out, wasn't it the "most expensive
console on the block"? Correct
me if I'm wrong.

farrell@newtech.net

Yup, to a certain extent you're
right. But many other big games
— such as Ghouls 'n' Goblins, F-
Zero, and PiiotWings —
accompanied the Super NES's
launch phase. Nintendo 64 is
relying on Mario far more than
the Super NES had to.

MPH| don't belive anyone hasn't
figured this out yet
{e)nos backwards is
son(e). "e" separated to be read
as the letter E such as the "r u
ready" slogan with ready depicted
with a red"e". Sony lives. Wow.

jquirin@textron.com

OK, but what about...

n don't think that "e-nos
lives" refers to the
bible. If you turn the
two words around, you get
"son-e sevil". Move the space
and spell it right, and you get

"sonys evil". Hmm even if it

isn't "evil", e-nos most likely
stands for sony. Why else
would there be a dash right in
the middle of the word?

Michael Gladstone
gladston@svpal.org

Does anyone else have anything
to say? Or is that finally it?

thought the Gallery in
the September issue
(NG 21) was great. I
loved the art work involved in
creating games. I hope you
continue to use the Gallery to
show more video game art.

Jonathan Allen
joallen@s I jriontcalm.cc.mi.us

We're happy to oblige. Check
out pages 97 through 102 for
more of the Gallery.

BP^H omputer simulation
games have become
very popular. The
Gettysburg simulation, Nascar,
IndyCar simulators, and SimGty
to name a few. What all these
games have in common is their
intent to be as real as possible
and also to educate and
entertain. Recently, a simulation
has been published by Interplay
called Conquest of the New
World. One might assume the

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corresponding

game to be historically accurate
and tell of the horrors of the
"explorers." However, such an
assumption would be wrong.
Conquest, a word which one of
its meanings is "to vanquish," is
guilty of sweetening history so
that it may be packaged and sold
as a game.

We all know now that the
once celebrated explorers were
not as heroic as was once
taught in school. However, the
introduction of Conquest is full
of pomp and circumstance and
glorifies the role of these
"explorers." Conquest states that
there was a time full of
superstition when Europe
brought the world out of the
dark ages and into the age of
enlightenment. People now
realized the world was round
and the mythical serpents that
guarded the ends of the earth
disappeared and the explorers
and "empire builders" were
born. Nothing is ever
mentioned about the genocide
perpetrated by these so-called
enlightened people.

Out of the several hundred
nations that lived on Turtle Island,
Interplay has chosen to represent
Native Americans as three tribes:
Hostile, Neutral, and Peaceful.
Not only do the tribes and the
people remain nameless, they are
all clothed in stereotypical
clothing and all live in Plains tipis.
The land is randomly generated
so there is not even historical
relevance there either. There is
no attempt at showing any battle
strategies on either side, and the
battlefield is like a tic-tac-toe
board that is played like the
childhood game of capture the
flag. The explorer side has the
flag of their country and the
Native American side has a hoop
with an animal skin string up
inside it with feathers hanging
down at the base of the hoop.

When the player's explorer
encounters a tribe, he is given
the option to either "Destroy,"
"Send Missionary," or leave
them alone. When you find a
Neutral or a Peaceful tribe, you
may also trade with them. You
can select "destroy" when you
meet any of the tribes. Another
example of their sweetening of

history is that the player can
capture members of other
expeditions but may not capture
Native Americans. Would people
still want to play Conquest if
Native Americans could be
captured as slaves? Probably not.
But not playing it is better than
whitewashing history.

The battle scenes are
unrealistic. TheArawaks and
many other tribes were not
prepared for the armor, weapons
and sheer numbers of these
"explorers." So how could this
game even be very challenging?

Columbus wrote in his own logs,
"I should be judged as a captain
who went from Spain to the
Indies to conquer a people
numerous and warlike, whose
manners and religion are very
different from ours..." This is
who the players of Conquest turn
into.

Perhaps there was no
hostile intent while making
Conquest. However, Interplay's
ignorance is appalling. The lure of
money has caused Interplay to
discard its sense of judgment.
How can a company make
anything entertaining about
genocide in the first place? The
age rating for this game is for
ages six to adults. Knowing how
children nowadays watch movies
and play games more than read
history books, is this going to be
American children's introduction
to Native American history? That
the Europeans could have been
defeated only if Native Americans
had played capture the flag
better? Interplay has done
nothing but glorify these

conquistadors. This holocaust
must not be clouded; otherwise,
it is as if it never happened.

Morgan Hastings
Morg3tn_Hastings/Papyrus.
PAPYRUS@papy.com

Interplay? Your response?

In regards to jason_p_
block@amoco.com's
letter about an arcade
type joystick for a the
PlayStation, my friend and I just
finished building a game
controller that works with the
PS-X. We built the controller
to be exactly like the arcade
controls for the arcade games
Robotron and Defender. But
what's really cool is that we set
up switches so you can use two
joysticks for Robotron, and then
one joystick and the exact
buttons for Defender. If you
give me a mailing address (your
work and your home), I can

send you a photo if you want.
It's pretty cool and took only a

day to make.

Peter H. Pang
Alias|Wavefront
ppang@aw.sgi.com

Good to see another satisfied
customer.

iiirm n NG 21 did you guys

rate AH-64D Longbow
™ ; with five stars or with
only four? It shows five stars,
but they are black and not the
usual red color.

Tim Grauerholz
PipBulls@aol.com

Oops. Yup,AH-64D Longbow got
five full stars (and yup, they
should have been red).

„<,„.;.;,« n NG 2 1, you answered

that you thought I was
■Jl being a little sensitive
about swearing in videogames.

www.reloaded.com

Next Generation OnUne, http://www.ru

Rll out and mail this entry to:
NBA JAM EXTREME SWEEPSTAKES
NEXT GENERATION
150 NORTH HILL DRIVE, SUITE 40
BRISBANE, CA 94005

(PLEASE PRiNT)

NAME

ADDRESS APT#

CITY STATE ZIP

DAYTIME PHONE ( ) DATE OF BIRTH

E-MAIL ADDRESS

SYSTEMS OWNED (Check all that apply)

□ Sega Saturn □ PlayStation □ DOS CD-ROM □ Windows 95 □ N64

SYSTEMS YOU PLAN ON BUYING (Check all that apply)

□ Saturn □ PlayStation □ DOS CD-ROM □ Windows 95 □ N64

HOW MANY GAMES HAVE YOU PURCHASED IN THE PAST YEAR?

ENTRIES MUST BE RECEIVED BY DECEMBER 15, 1996

ber and age. to NBA JAM EXTREME SWEEPSTAKES, Next Generation, 150 North Hill Drive. Suite 40, Brisbane, CA
94005. All duplicate entries ot violator will be voided. Next Generation Magazine, imagine Publishing, Inc. and
Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. assume no responsibility ot late, misdirected, incomplete, or illegible entries. No mechani-
cally produced entries are allowed. All mail in entries must be post-marked by January 15, 1996. Void where prohibited,

AWARDING OF PRIZES

The following prize (with corresponding estimated retail values) is guaranteed to be awarded: One (1)
Grand Prize winner will receive an NBA JAM Extreme Arcade Machine. (ERV S4.000.00], Winner will be
determined on January 31, 1997 in a random drawing by Next Generation Magazine, Imagine Publishing,
Inc. Odds ot winning depend upon the number of all eligible entries received. Winner will be notified by
phone. Grand Prize winner must execute an affidavit of eligibility and liability publicity release within 15
days of notification. Winner's entry and acceptance of prize constitutes permission to use their names,
photographs, and likeness for purposes of advertising and promotion on behalf of Next Generation and/or
Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. without further compensation. Winner is responsible for any and all federal,
state, and local taxes if necessary. A complete list of prize winners will appear in a future issue of Next
Generation magazine. For a list of winners, send a self -addressed, stamped envelope by February 15. 1997
to NBA JAM EXTREME SWEEPSTAKES. Next Generation, 150 North Hill Drive. Suite 40. Brisbane. CA 94005,
ELIGIBILITY

The sweepstakes is open to residents of the United States, except for Rhode Island and Florida.
Employees of Next Generation Magazine, Imagine Publishing. Inc.. Acclaim Entertainment, Inc.. NBA
Properties. Inc.. the National Basketball Association and its member teams, and all participating ven-
dors, their subsidiaries, affiliates, advertising agencies, and their immediate families are not eligible.
LIABILITIES

This promotion is operated by Next Generation Magazine, Imagine Publishing, Inc. and Acclaim
Entertainment, Inc. which is solely responsible for its conduct, completion and awarding of prizes. All decisions
of Next Generation Magazine, Imagine Publishing, Inc., and Acclaim Entertainment, Inc., on all matters relat-
ing to this promotion are final. Next Generation Magazine, Imagine Publishing. Inc., NBA Properties Inc.. the
National Basketball Association. Acclaim Entertainment Inc., and its representatives, officers, directors, and par-
ticipating sponsors assume no liabilities resulting from the use of this prize,
PRIZE RESTRICTIONS

Alternative prizes or cash will not be offered in lieu of prizes described above. Prize may not be substituted,
transferred, or exchanged.

corresponding

Well, maybe I am, but I'm
definitely not the only one. Or,
maybe it's the other way
around. From the letters I got,
it seems as though your side
seems sensitive about losing
your precious swear words. All
but one ended up being the
type of letter where I get
cussed out while being called
immature and babyish, and
that's it. No reasons, no
explanations, nothing but that.

Maybe your audience, or at
least the people who support
you, aren't as mature as you
believe they are. I really don't
mean to offend anyone, but all
of this contradicting stuff just
helps to prove my point.

All I want to get across to
these companies is that there
are profits being lost here, just
because of something that is
easily changed. There are simple
substitutions here. Anyway,
thanks for printing my first
letter, and I send out a thank
you to everyone who sent me
their opinion, even to those who
are against me, because, if
anything, it made my own
position stronger.

Timothy Kish
SilverHkl l@aol.com

We respect your opinions
Timothy, and we are well
aware of the ignorant, juvenille
minority who saw fit to
respond aggressively to you.
Unfortunately, someone
making a stand (such as
yourself) invariably attracts
such attention.

must say that the use of
I phrases such as "blow
the living shit out of
your enemies" (NG 1 9, p. 90) is
not necessary and detracts from
the valuable content given. My
overall opinion on the quality of
your magazine is lowered with
every issue. Please do what you
can to correct this problem.

Philippe Zautke
<philz@primenet.com

OK, this debate has been going
on for a while now. So let's
sort it out once and for all.
Next Generation is aimed at
the older, more sophisticated

gamer, and it is our belief that
the vast majority of Next
Generation readers
appreciate being treated as the
adults that they are — and that
this occasionally does include
adult languge.

What do you think? If the
vast majority of correspondence
over the next few weeks
demands that we remove such
language, then we shall.

hen it first came out,
I 1 J Sega was advertising the

Saturn as having two
32-bit processors. You guys
even mentioned twin Hitatchi
SH-2s. Just recently, however, I
saw a commercial that then said
that Saturn had three 32-bit
processors! Did Saturn get
revamped, or what?

Terry&Mary Ellen Foust
75630.3235@compuserve.com

Sega Saturn — how many
processors does it really have?

No, Sega's advertising agency is
using what it can to get a jump
on PlayStation and Nintendo 64
in its TV ads. Although Saturn
does contain these components,
the company essentially
compares apples to oranges in
its TV ads. These extra
components don't necessarily
make it more powerful.

Indeed, although all
companies do this, Sega is
probably the worst of the
videogame bunch. We're sure
many of you will remember that
when Saturn first launched,
callers to the Saturn 1-800
Information line were told that
"really, Saturn is a 128-bit
machine" — because this was
the number you got if you
"added up" all its components.

Unfortunately, this kind of
practise is unlikely to disappear.

am writing this letter
because I wanted to
1 express my concern
about Luigi. In all the Nintendo
64s reviews and previews, I
have not once heard the name
Luigi spoken once in any of
them. I mean, Mario and Luigi
are like "peas and carrots", you
can't have a Mario game
without Luigi! So where is he?

Vinny

1 03527. 1 1 06@compuserve.com

RS. Your list of 100 games was
right on. I wouldn't change a
single title.

It's strange, but we haven't heard
anything about Luigi either.
Nintendo's not talking, and on
the subject responds with what
can only be described as a
"stony" silence.

Dwas reading NG 21
today, specifically the
"Joyriding" article
written by Bernard Yee. After

reading his summary that states
that advertising may pay the
way for online gamers (since
advertisers would cover
operating expenses), I was
surprised that Next
Generation isn't free,
considering the amount of ads
in it.

Yale Evans
yevans@mcs.net

Because, of course, we have
paper, print, distribution,
transport, and retailer mark-up
costs that web sites don't incur.

WWW ow — what an issue!
^ | J Now, many mags
■■■■ wouldn't have dared to
put out an issue rating the top
100 games of all times. Over
all I liked it.

John Sweeney
jsween@osprey.unf.edu

We dare to do what (T^O
others fear to do. t^j

www.reloaded.com

Next Generation PRESENTS

DONKEY KONG COUNTRY 3:
DIXIE KONG'S DOUBLE TROUBLE

He's smart, strong, and suave as hell. Fabio? Not even close. He's
everyone's favorite primate pal and he's back in a new adven-
ture — Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble — this
year's hottest 16-bit release!

Here's your chance to get down to serious monkey business and win some
fabulous prizes. Just send in the correct answers to the following ques-
tions on a postcard and be sure to include your name, address, and
phone number.

CD Who was Donkey Kong®'s original arch-enemy?
(T) Which of the original three Donkey Kong games did Mario

NOT appear in?
(D Whatever happened to Donkey Kong Junior®?
(J) In the first Donkey Kong Country game, what had been stolen from

Donkey Kong?

(D Special Tie Breaker Question: Had Dian Fossey owned a

Super Nintendo Entertainment System®, the book and movie about her gam-
ing experience would probably have been called: a) Donkey Kong in the Mist
b) Donkey Kong in the Tornado c) Donkey Kong in the Mud Flat

Put /our correct answers on
a postcard and mail it tn

2 Grand Prize Winners

48 First Prize Winners

will win a Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble
game pak of their very own!

(to purduar otosaq. Unit <m tad entry p« pmoi/addrni Caitnt spa m rata* sf OK United SOtH ad in tentorial wd pomabra ad Caadi (festtam of Qwbs inn A-
pbb). Srnd your tntry u ihown abort whti ywir fall printed name, tddreo, ad tehctot* Matt fmduding nt ado) H dM P.O. to tddraa fated am U lad «tr» <ri bt
attend Mi i draww for a durra to -m m cf die prnti M tntno rnwt bt, rtcemd no later dun January IS, IW. Nerdw Nintendo of America be at bn Pubioh.ns. be i
naooxbb for tot. fcue. illegible, incomplete, or aRhal atria. 0. > awt January 31 , Ml, pud ad In place prize winning entries ml a i«Wi drm liM among J rata
atrin ad at triaat)) HI be atiM by pbM or aft hi nan H bo mid on grand praeW- 41 *m H bo traded no Int place prstft).

Ho B*mttttjc« or trawler of prim by mnncr permitted. M win H bt awarded. Empfoyeo (ad tar Midha rami} members) of Nrnnode of tenet Ik and Imagine Pubfahi
Inc. their aflfiata ad ajeariea art at eMb to anr. Tta contest it nHm Id a trrpMh federal, pronndaL. nan and local Ian rtgufaoors, and ratridms. AH prne wtnnerii]
anna reafoabity for tppfcwb eras and fees vwrtted wr* receiving, the prim By Kopthj In prW mutest ««•(') robot Imagine fttifcatg, Ire ad Hinando of twric

itt^brrL'oaidt^^fl^ tat tlitJarjaM tri atttai^^ be. iMMiMf^Toatol ■> MridbM

agrees to abide by tnoe OfSda! tatR Un. Mr* (-1 mota br detrnry of the prizefi). Wd where prohibited or (arreted by h».

FBffT PKZL 41 First Pria Wboan H nam i Donkey long Country 1: Dab tug 1 ! Dob* Train pne pat Apprmimaa real nfee, UiD. HS.
Cootw sponsored by Iragine PuWbhing, be, ISO North HI Dim, brdww, U MOOS,

will win a Super Nintendo Entertainment System and a Donkey
Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble game pak,
Nintendo's latest installment of the Donkey Kong saga!

ending

Next Month

Make your own PlayStation games
Very little is known in the U.S. of Sony's "Let's
Create" initiative — a Japanese program that
enables gamers like you to make PlayStation
games at home. Next month, Next Generation
exclusively reveals Sony's plans for Let's Create
in the U.S. and shows you everything you need to
create your own hit games.

Next Generation #25
on sale December 17, 1996.

Smart readers have already subscribed. To find out how you too can save money
and guarantee your copy, turn to the insert between pages 144 and 145.

SUDDENLY,
THINGS

ARE
GETTING

PERSONAL.

CAPCOM

www.capcom.com

THE FUTURE

GAME MUSIC

As CDs continue to provide hi-fi
quality soundtracks for computer
and videogames, techno and dance
music is quickly becoming gaming's
mainstream. But
who's writing all

w i 1
% 1 I

Your essential look
at the hot new
games you'll be
playing tomorrow,
on Sega Saturn,
Nintendo 64, PC,
and PlayStation

imagine

a new way of publishing

Next Generation Online, http://www.next-generalion.com/

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